Dark Pride
by XxShawns Guardian AngelxX
Summary: Eric Bischoff has just been hired by Vince as the new GM of Raw. Now a broken man, he is working hard to get out of debt and wants nothing to with women ever again until he meets Stephanie McMahon. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! OCs Kim, Rhi, and Brit. Eric B/Steph
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** **I own nothing WWE related nor do I own any of the superstars. I am not making money off of this so please don't try and sue me. This is a complete work of fiction and any likeness in real life are completely coincidental. **

AN: This is actually part of a series of fics that all somehow - in a weird way - tie together. OCs are used in them from the other stories so it may help if you read them in order. Of course you do not HAVE to, but it would help if you did. There are several stories going on at once but in this fic I'll mainly focus on Hunter, Eric, and Shawn. Shawn is a big part of the series anyway so there's no way I can actually leave him out. He as well as a few others are already in established relationships while others pick up from where I left off in other fics. The suggested order that you read them in is as follows:

**_Oh, Choices_**

**_Oh, Choices II_**

**_My Time is Now_**

**_Dark Pride_**

_Summary:__ When Eric lost his company to Vince McMahon years ago, that was the start of a very unpleasant series of unfortunate events. Not being able to find a steady job, his wife ran off with his best friend leaving him all alone, broke, and broken hearted. Vince hears of this and because he respects Bischoff, he wants to help him get out of debt and get his life straightened but to do this he enlists the help of his daughter Stephanie. She is reluctant to help for she has her own problems. Being forced to work together brings Stephanie and Eric closer together. See what happens after that infamous kiss that happened on Smackdown coming up to Halloween in 2002. _

**~**Dark Pride**~**_  
_

Eric Bischoff sat in his favorite recliner with his heels kicked back patiently awaiting the start of Monday Night Raw. He had his beer in one hand and the remote in the other. His hair had turned slightly gray over the summer so he looked a lot older than he really was, but he knew why this was so. It was because he had no idea how he was going to pay his bills among other things. He was up to his head in debt and had already maxed out all of his loans trying to pay back what he owed. Sure he could probably go and borrow some money from a friend or two but he was a prideful man. It wasn't his style to beg or borrow.

Right as Raw was getting ready to kick off, Eric's house phone rang. "I'll be goddamn. Who the hell could this be? People know not to call me on Monday nights," he mumbled, scratching the back of his leg as he hobbled towards the phone in his kitchen. "Hello."

"Hey Eric, it's me Vince."

**~*~**

As Eric entered the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, he felt a strange sensation that he hadn't felt in so long. He was being greeted by Vince McMahon's workers and instead of jeers or hushed whispers as he walked by, all he heard was heartfelt praises about his return. It would seem that everyone was excited to see him; the very opposite of how he assumed they'd react. When Vince first offered him the job, the thought crossed his mind to just say no. Simple as that. However, being honest with himself for the first time in a long time, he had realized that he wasn't in the position to say no. He didn't have a steady job and the few odd jobs that he did work did not pay enough to satisfy his outstanding debt. Truth is, he needed money and fast otherwise he was going to be in serious trouble. He was dodging creditors day after day and a few of them were coming by the house waiting, hoping he'd be there so that they could chew him out or worse, embarrass him. He was ready for it to end and this time he couldn't let pride get in the way.

"Good evening Mr. Bischoff. I was starting to think you weren't going to show."

Eric chuckled, sticking his hand out to shake his new boss' hand. "Yeah well I realized that sometimes you got to push pride aside. Besides, you're a smart man Mr. McMahon. I'm sure you know what's been going on with me as far as finances are concerned."

"Yeah well I heard some things but you need not worry about that now. And for the record, that's not why I called you up. I needed something new…something fresh and I knew you were just the man for the job."

Eric ran a hand through his dark hair stifling a chuckle. "Vince you don't have to pity me."

"Eric, you of all people should know me by now. I have no reason to pity you; I won't pity you for that matter. After all, you were at one time the biggest pain in my ass. Now come along to my office. I got some people you need to meet." Eric reluctantly followed Vince towards his office near the back. Along the way he was greeted by some of his former employees; Booker T and Y2J to name a few. _Man I'm getting old…_

Once inside, Eric was surprised to see that it was only Vince's daughter Stephanie sitting behind what he presumed to be Vince's desk.

"Stephanie, just what do you think you're doing?" Vince asked.

"Oh, you know, just getting myself comfortable to take over some day," she said laughing. She stood up and walked from behind the desk showcasing a short, black dress that was tight and revealing highlighting everything a man could ever hope for in a dress. Eric found himself trying not to stare even though it had been ages since he'd actually been involved with a woman. Ever since his wife Crystal left him, he'd never been able to open his heart to another woman and vowed to never do so again. All thoughts of Stephanie he may have had quickly vanished as he shook her hand taking a seat on the couch next to Vince.

"So the reason I wanted…wait a second. Honey where's Hunter?" Vince asked.

"I have no idea," she shrugged. "He said he would be here but maybe he got stuck in traffic. I left the hotel before he did so there's no telling."

"Oh well I'll have to chew him out later then. So I'm sure you two know of each other." Both Stephanie and Eric nodded towards one another in agreement. "Eric as you know, you'll be acting GM of Raw while my daughter Stephanie will be running things on Smackdown. Even though you two are representing two different brands, you will be working together on various occasions and I think it'll be good for you both, especially you Eric."

"What?" Eric shook his head. "Vince with all due respect it's not like I have suicidal thoughts or anything on a day to day basis. I'm perfectly capable of doing things on my own."

"Yes, that may be true but all the same you're working with her. It'll be good for ratings," he reasoned though Eric wasn't entirely convinced.

"As you wish boss," Eric replied lazily, throwing his hands up in defeat. Stephanie just frowned looking slightly taken back. Apparently she too had no idea of this arrangement.

"Good. Then it's settled. Eric all we're doing tonight is revealing you to the world and then we'll go from there. You'll get some say so on how you want to run things. I value your opinion just as much as the other writers but since you're going to be the one in front of the camera every night, I am sure you'd like to have some say on how things are set up."

"Uh…right. Thank you Mr. McMahon."

Vince stood up and headed for the door. "No need to thank me. I hope you're ready because we're about to be on one hell of a roller coaster ride." And with that he left the office. Neither Stephanie nor Eric uttered a word for the next few minutes. They were both still trying to take in what Vince said. For starters, Eric hated working directly with others. When he was co-owner of WCW, he did everything his way all the time. To make this situation worse was the fact that Stephanie was a woman and a _fine_ ass woman at that. Of course he wasn't interested in her. He wouldn't even dream of being with someone as spoiled as the so-called "Billion Dollar Princess". He was way past the little girl stage at his age. In fact, the only thing he was interested in now was making some quick cash to get out of debt and then settling down on his own somewhere—preferably out of the country.

"Eric, I'm…I'm sorry." Eric looked up, startled from her sudden unexpected apology. "I didn't know my father was going to pull something like this but I promise to stay out of your way." That was all she said before taking her leave.

**~*~**

"So it's done. I am really official," Bischoff said trying hard to fight off the excitement in his voice. They had just finished the live taping of Raw and as planned, Vince announced him as the new GM of Raw and even shook his hand on live tv. Vince patted him on the back leading him towards his office. They both sat down and a second later, Stephanie McMahon entered the room with her husband bringing drinks for all of them. Hunter turned to Bischoff and shook his hand.

"Welcome to the staff Mr. Bischoff. Sorry about earlier but I had to pick up some things for my baby here." He walked over and planted a kiss on Stephanie's cheek then took a seat next to her.

"No, it's alright," Eric smiled. "I know how it is and believe me there's no need to rush to see me."

"Oh you're humble now?" Hunter joked.

"In more ways than you can imagine," he laughed.

Vince cleared his throat gaining their attention. "So are you ready?" Vince asked.

"Hey! That's my line!" Hunter choked. Vince rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Uh…yeah, I'm raring to go," Eric answered. "I've read the script and I like the way it's going…on _some_ aspects but I'm not sure about others. However, I'm willing to work through them so it's no big deal," he said with a smile.

"Good. Well I was just making sure. Steph and Hunter can be a big help when I'm not around but I trust you can run things on your own. Not much has changed since…" Vince's voice trailed off as he searched for the right thing to say without sounding so arrogant, but there was no need. Eric stood to his feet and started for the door.

"Yeah. Well unless there's anything else then I need to go and get packed. I do believe I need to be in Charleston by Sunday," he replied.

"Alright. I'll see you then and if you need anything you know how to reach me." Bischoff nodded and headed out the door.

"I need to go too Vince," Hunter winced. "I believe a shower is calling my name." He kissed Stephanie before taking his leave as well. Not wanting to be left alone with her dad, Stephanie rose to take leave as well.

"Honey a word."

Stephanie rolled her eyes as she fell back into her seat. "What is it father?" she asked impatiently. "I really need to be going."

"Is something going on with you and Hunter that I need to know about?"

Stephanie just sat their frozen stiff. _How the hell does he know? No wait…he's just speculating… _"What? Dad you're imagining things. Everything is going _great _between Hunter and me," she said calmly. It was so calm that for a second she almost believed it herself.

Vince smiled down at his princess nodding his head. "Alright then. I was just checking. You take care of yourself and I expect you to make Eric's stay here in the business a good one. I know he and I weren't always the best of friends but I respect him. As a business man he is nothing but pure genius."

"But why do I have to look out for him? Why can't you do it?" she whined.

"Because I'm a busy man and he needs someone who will be patient with him. He's…had it rough lately, especially this past year."

Stephanie drew in a deep breath before responding. "Fine. I'll _try_ but if things don't work out then you'll have to get someone else. I have a husband and children to look after that's way more important than the well being of an old rival father." With that she stormed out of the office.

**-xx-**

**FYI: I read and write a LOT of slash. So...just so YOU know, a slash couple may appear from time to time in my fics. (Like this one). And if the rating changes, depending on how serious it is will determine whether or not they engage in rated r acts. You have been warned so flaming will be pointless.**


	2. Chapter 2

Instead of going straight to the hotel after the show, Stephanie decided to stop by the local _Starbucks_ which was only a few blocks from the arena. When she entered she was surprised to see so many other superstars there including her new teammate Eric. He was sitting all alone in a corner near the back. His head was down and it looked as if he hadn't taken the first sip of his drink._ Father…why me? I should just ignore him. Stupid jerk but I can't…_ Stephanie sighed as she approached his booth taking a seat across from him. His head snapped up and he forced a smile as he greeted her.

"Hi…uh…what brings you by here?" he asked.

"Well I just…after tonight I needed to wind down a little before heading back to the hotel. What's your excuse? You said you had to get back and pack." She folded her arms staring at him curiously.

He finally straightened himself up, frowning as he stared at the feisty woman before him. "Alright. You got me. I uh…I needed to take in the events of tonight. I've been out of wrestling work for so long that I'm…never mind," he laughed. "I was just leaving anyway. You have a good night."

Stephanie watched the older man before her get up without his drink and leave the building. "So much for bonding," she mumbled. She went to the counter and ordered a drink waving at all the superstars as she made her exit.

**~**~**

Stephanie went inside their hotel room half hoping that Hunter would be asleep but much to her dismay he was not. He was sitting in bed drinking a coke staring at her intensely as she entered the room. "Where have you been?" he asked. "You should have been back oh…say an _hour_ ago," he replied looking at his watch.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. She kicked off her heels and sat down on the loveseat across the room. She was tired, her feet hurt, and she wasn't in the mood to argue with her husband. "Hunter, I went out to get a drink. You see the drink so let's end it here," she replied casually.

"Honey look, I don't know what's gotten into you lately but…"

"_Me?_ Excuse me but I'm not the only one who's been acting weird lately so don't try to turn the whole thing on me. I'm telling you Hunter tonight is definitely not the night. I am tired, my head is throbbing, and to make matters worse, my father has me babysitting a 40 something year old adult. Do you really want to do this tonight?" she snapped.

"No, but I…never mind. Let's just get some sleep," he mumbled. He rolled over settling himself for a goodnight's sleep. Meanwhile, Stephanie smiled to herself as she sat there drinking her coffee_. Serves him right. _After a while her eyes closed, her brain recalling the events of the night. The show was great, her father was tolerable and then there was Eric. _Eric…_ Even though the idea of being his 'watcher' turned her off, she hated seeing him look so down in the coffee shop. What could have caused such a genius—according to her dad—to get so down and out so quickly? Whatever it was had Stephanie curious and she was now determined to find out what it was.

**~**~**

A week later, Eric was entering the arena for another exciting Raw. This time they were in Charleston performing before a sold out crowd. Eric entered his office and sat down at his desk to prepare for the show. He had already called Vince with a short list of ideas and he needed to see which ones the writers were going to run with. He skimmed through the scripts chuckling as he came across several of his ideas. _So they trust me after all_. For several long minutes he read over the script highly amused at all of his ideas until someone knocked on his door.

"Uh…come on in."

His door opened and in walked Stephanie, seemingly floating across the room towards him. She was wearing a white skirt with a matching, v-neck tank which slightly annoyed him. Her long dark hair was tied back into a pony tail and her make-up was light and refreshing, something he shouldn't have been noticing about her. She sat down in one of the chairs right in front of his desk with a frown on her face. "What can I do for you?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"Eric or _Mr_. Bischoff rather—

"Call me Eric."

"Whatever. So was it your idea to do a Smackdown Halloween Special this year?" she asked hotly.

"Uh…_yeah_, but I thought it would be good for ratings. I've noticed that the WWE does Christmas specials and Thanksgiving specials so I figured why not? Why not do a Halloween special? I thought it would be something silly and fun for us all," he shrugged.

"Yes, I get that but I don't know how I feel about the whole show, especially the promo that I'm supposed to cut with you."

"Oh that," he chuckled. "Well, I figured by the time we get to that point, you'd enjoy slapping the hell out of me. What's so wrong with that? Do you think I'm too old and feeble to take a hit anymore?"

"No Eric and…wait a sec…what the hell are you talking about? The scene doesn't call for me to hit you."

"Um…the one that _I_ wrote did. You must have read the wrong script sweetheart because—

"No, actually I think the writers have added their own twist. Have you even read the entire script?" she inquired, crossing her legs. Eric's eyes did a quick double take before looking down at the script. _Why do women insist on wearing very little?_ He shook his head as he flipped through the script searching for the Halloween stuff. It didn't take him long to spot what Stephanie was probably so pissed off about. It was a kiss…a kiss that was supposed to go down between the two of them on screen. He stared at it, mouth agape from surprise yet he couldn't find the words to say. Truth be told, he had no idea what to say anyway. Just like her, he didn't like the idea any more than she did and made a mental note to talk with Vince about it later.

He did not want to kiss anyone on screen especially a spoiled brat like her. Not only was she Vince McMahon's daughter and in his opinion, that alone made her off limits, but she was beautiful—_too_ beautiful for her own good. The thought alone of kissing someone like her excited him and he hated himself for feeling that way. He promised himself that he would never utter the word 'woman' ever again but if Vince kept doing things like this, he was going to be forced to see Stephanie as the delicious morsel that she was and _that _was going to be a big problem.

"Eric?"

He jumped having been brought back to the real world. "Huh? Oh…yeah I see what you… I'll see if I can get that changed right away. I know how uncomfortable you'd be and I don't think I could…"

"No, Eric. It's not…It's not the kiss that I'm worried about and…" She twisted her face into a scowl. "Hey wait a sec. Are you trying to say that I am insecure?" she asked angrily.

"What? No! I just…I figured you'd be uncomfortable doing something like that with a guy like me."

"Oh…so now you're saying I'm shallow?" she snapped folding her arms across her chest. Eric had no idea but he was pissing her off more and more with each passing second.

"I…you know what? I don't need this shit right now. We'll deal with that when the time comes." He stood to leave but she quickly headed him off cornering him behind his desk. She stood toe to toe with him ignoring the fact that she was far too close for comfort. The scent of her sweet smelling perfume almost knocked him out and he couldn't help but notice how her breasts peeped out of her tank nicely. _Oh hell… _"Princess…"

"Eric you listen to me and you listen good. I do _not_ take criticism lightly…"

"I wasn't—

"And before you speak of me and about me then I suggest for future reference you _learn_ a little something about me. For starters, you made it sound like I am a shallow person and for your information I am far from it. I could care less how old you are. This is a business and if that kiss means higher ratings then I'm going to go through with it. You got a problem with that?" she asked softly. Her breathing was now slightly labored from all of her yelling and it was making Eric very uncomfortable. He hadn't been that close to a woman in ages and with each passing moment, her sweet scent was being implanted into his head.

"No, not at all," he managed. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a show to run. We can discuss this further when the time comes."

She moved aside and watched him as he exited the room. _Damn you Eric_. Stephanie plopped down into the chair behind his desk and stared at a blank spot on the wall. She was still shaking with fury from Eric's words. _Seriously, how could he even think that I'd be that shallow?_ She picked up his copy of the script and began reading though it again, wanting to make sure she hadn't missed anything the first three times. Nope. It was the same and featured the same uncomfortable kissing scene that was supposed to happen between her and Eric. _The kiss…_

Until this very moment, the thought of kissing Eric seemed just like another day at the office but after the past conversation with him, it was starting to sound like a huge mistake. When she was standing in front of Eric just now, it took her brain all of ten seconds to realize just how handsome Eric was for his age and his refreshing man scent did not help either. For a brief moment she had been tempted to put her nose near his neck just to get a good whiff of it but she thought the better of it. _Is that something married women should be aware of? Probably not. _

There was a knock at the door and Stephanie stood to her feet quickly as Eric came dashing into the room. He stopped suddenly rolling his eyes when he realized that it was just her. "What are _you _still doing here?" he mumbled.

"Uh…I…I never left. I was…looking over your copy of the script checking some things out," she replied quickly.

"Oh. So you're _still_ on that kick huh?" he chuckled.

"No…you know what? What's with your attitude?" she asked storming over towards him. As she approached, he raised his hands in defense backing up towards the door.

"Whoa. Hey. Sorry. I'm not… Look, if you were in my shoes a few weeks ago, you'd be a grumpy old man too. I'm sorry. It's just going to take me some time to learn how to be…_nicer_," he replied choosing his words carefully. _What's a man to do with such a feisty woman on his ass everyday? I should just fire myself and call it a day…_

"Nicer huh? Well now let's talk. Why don't you explain to me how it was living your life weeks ago?" she asked with a smug look on her face.

"No. I don't have the time plus it's really none of your business _princess_." Stephanie had had enough. She angrily shoved him against the wall with every intention of slapping the hell out of him but she hesitated. The hand she raised to slap him lingered in midair and she watched as his arrogant smirk slowly vanished. "Go ahead," he said softly. "Hit me. You know you want to."

There was something about the way he said those words that made her feel guilty. It was a mixture of cold and sadness that had her mind racing furiously. "I should but I…I just can't," she said softly. He suddenly grabbed her arms and spun her around, shoving her against the door. Now she was the one being cornered.

"Well you should have because I probably deserved it. At any rate, I do not like being pushed against a wall. You wanted to know how it felt to be me weeks ago? Well you're getting a taste of it now; backed against a wall between creditors, my wife, and past mistakes. It's not a very good feeling is it princess? Being backed against a wall…no defense…no where to go…," he whispered. He let go of her hands but she kept them up clenching her fists to keep from shaking.

"Eric…I…I'm sorry. I didn't…I didn't know."

"How could you have known? You aren't supposed to know."

"I know but…I'd like to know," she blurted out. It was the truth and as much as she wished her father would have just left her out of it, she was now curious about the man standing before her. She wanted to know more about him and after seeing his sad expression in the coffee shop last week, there was a slight chance that she wanted to help him too. He continued to stare at her, his expression soft but unreadable. "Eric please…" she whispered lowering her arms so that she was completely defenseless. She looked up into his eyes showing her sincerity to help him but his sad eyes did a number on her heart. Without thinking, she reached up and touched his cheek tracing his cheekbone.

"I…don't need…" he stammered but the light touch from her hand moved towards his neck causing him to lose all train of thought as her warm hand caressed his neck.

"ERIC? STEPHANIE? ARE YOU IN THERE?" Stephanie and Eric both jumped out of their trances and cursed. Eric, who seemed a bit embarrassed, moved across the room towards his desk and took a seat before nodding towards Stephanie to open the door. Stephanie opened the door and groaned. It was her father…_and_ her husband.

"What can we do for the two of you?" she asked. The extreme sarcasm in her voice caused Eric to stifle a laugh and her husband looked plum pissed.

"Well _dear,_ your _loving_ husband was just coming by to see if you were alright. Vince came by to have a word with his new GM but since you seem to be doing ok, I'll just be on my way." Hunter nodded towards the two older gentlemen then completely ignoring his wife, he stormed off back towards the locker rooms. Vince shook his head following Stephanie back into the office.

"So how are you two getting along?" Vince asked. Neither Stephanie nor Eric replied. Instead they both pretended as though he didn't exist. "I see," Vince replied softly. "Well I guess that means you two are getting along just fine then so I'll be on my way. By the way Eric, good show you have planned for the evening. I hope the Halloween special is just as good," he grinned as he walked out of the office shutting the door behind him.

"Got to love your father," Eric mumbled. He stood to his feet and started for the door. He stopped in front of Stephanie on his way out fighting to keep his senses from going into overdrive. "I'm sorry for earlier…my hands…I should never have touched you like that and I promise to never do it again. And to answer your question, I can't…I mean I _won't_…I don't need any help from anyone. What your family is doing for me now is enough. The fact that your father has forgiven me after all these years and is giving me a fresh new start is help enough but thank you anyway…princess." He swept past her quickly and headed back out the door thanking God that Vince showed up when he did. Who knows what would have happened if he didn't? He hoped that he would have less time to spend with Stephanie. The more he stayed around her, the more he realized how nice it could be to have a friend again.


	3. Chapter 3

Hunter went to the locker room and took a long hot shower. He was tired after his match against Umaga and his arms were killing him. He was going to have a word with his wife to take his mind off of wrestling but it would seem that she wasn't in the mood for him. _Like it's been for a while now… I'm not in the mood to deal with her and she doesn't have time for me. It's almost as if we're like Shawn and…_ Hunter shut off the water cursing himself. The same thing that happened to Shawn was starting to happen to him and he didn't like it. Right now he just couldn't imagine his life without Stephanie but what if this was the end of the road for them? _No… I'm getting ahead of myself. Nothing will keep me and Stephanie a part. We love each other too much. _He quickly dried himself off then got dressed. He needed to hurry home so that he and his wife could do some serious talking but first he needed to confide in a friend about a few things.

**~*~*~**

Eric sat in his office after the show smiling. It had been a great night and the crowd was very enthusiastic. He received big pops from the audience and the thought amused him. In just another week or so he would be turning heel because that's what he did best—acting like a jerk and boy did he prove that tonight to Stephanie although it was really unintentional. _I can't believe I put my hands on her. Damn me for being such an animal._ Eric shook his head and continued to stare at a spot on the wall. What he did to her tonight was just unforgivable in his mind. If she were to tell Vince he was sure to be fired on the spot and in a way, he prayed that she would. Not like he deserved the help from her father anyway. "That's why I hate women," he grumbled.

"Wow. That makes me feel _so_ much better about working with you."

Eric looked up to see Stephanie gliding towards him. He rolled his eyes as she took a seat in a chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you?" he asked exasperatedly. _There's just no getting rid of her…_

"Well excuse me for caring. I just came by to tell you…great job. We work together and I'm just trying to ease the tension between the two of us."

"There's no need to care princess. I'm used to people not giving a damn so you're off the hook," he replied coldly.

Stephanie just sat there, her mouth wide open in shock. "How could you be so cold?" she asked angrily.

"How am I being cold?" he asked smirking down at the floor. He refused to look her in the eyes. Based on the crack in her voice, he could tell that she was about to cry and he just wasn't ready to face her like that. He was a sucker for crying women but what choice did he have? He needed to push her away so that he wouldn't notice her good looks and how nice she smelled among other things. He didn't want or need to notice her because that would make working with her even worse. In his mind, he was doing her a favor.

"Eric! My father… I don't know how I am going to be able to work with you if we can't communicate!"

"We're communicating now."

"ERIC!"

Eric stood up at his desk and leaned over it looking her dead in the eye. "Look, I know what you're trying to do and I'm telling you now to just stop it. I don't need a friend or anything of the sort. All I need is a business partner. Nothing more. Nothing less. Got it?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she stammered.

"What? You think I don't know what your father is up to? He wants you to get close to me so that I will spill my guts to you about my life blah blah blah…why my wife left me blah blah blah…yeah I know but it's not going to work. Why? Because you are not going to talk to me besides talk of business. You are not going to be my friend. You are nothing to me but a business partner."

She stared at him for several seconds, tears streaming down her face before standing to her feet and walking towards the door. "You are by far the cruelest man I've ever met. I don't know what that _other_ woman did to you but that's no reason to take it out on me. Yeah, I hear what you're saying but if I actually listened to you then I would be going against everything I stand for. You're hurting about something…deep down there is something that's eating you up and I am going to find out what it is if it kills me. Have a good night Eric. I'll see you next week."

Eric just stood there speechless watching her walk out the door. He rolled his eyes and banged his fist on his desk. He knew that when Vince called him up that there was going to be a catch and boy was he ever right. Vince was using his daughter to get to him and the sad part about it was that it was actually working. Eric groaned. How could you not admire a woman with that much fire and tenacity about her? It wasn't that he _wanted_ her in his bed or something, but she reminded him so much of his ex-wife that it was killing him to be in the same environment with her.

He was about to leave again when his door suddenly flung open. There she was…_again_…standing there. This time there was a smug look about her that frightened Eric more than he let on. "What do you want? Do you ever just…go away?" he mumbled.

"Uh…I just came to tell you that I talked to my father about us."

_Oh no….I'm probably fired…_ "And…?"

"And he feels that you and I need to try harder at becoming good friends. Therefore from now on, you and I have been ordered to travel together," she said with a laugh.

"WHAT THE _HELL_?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?" he yelled.

"Yep. You don't believe me? Call him up. I had to do something about our little situation. You forget Eric that I am a McMahon and if I want something I get it. Get the picture? You can say what you want and attempt to run me off but I'll keep bouncing back because that's what I do best. You could learn a thing or two from me if you paid attention hot shot. Instead of wallowing in whatever self pity you have, you should be bouncing back and doing your own thing rather than worrying about your past mistakes. At any rate you might wanna go and get packed. We leave for Wales in the morning and you have to ride the corporate jet with me. Good night Eric." And with that she was off leaving Eric in a fit of rage.

***~*~***

It didn't take long for Shawn to spot his best friend in the bar. Years ago a place like this would be the easiest place to find Shawn but he kicked the habit a long time ago. Now he was only here to meet up with his best friend and judging by the look of him, he wasn't a moment too soon. Hunter was slouched over in his chair with a distant look on his face. Shawn quietly took a seat across from his friend then shortly after a waitress came to take their orders; Shawn ordered an iced tea and Hunter a beer before they settled down to talk. "Hunter, you look like something is really bothering you. What's wrong bro?"

Hunter swirled his beer around shaking his head. "Shawn, all those times I kidded around about you and Rhi…well…forgive me. I am so sorry. I am getting the payback for my taunting you last year."

"Huh? What do you mean?" he frowned. "And you know I never paid any attention to you about Rhi. I always knew she was a bit… something but never mind that. I'd rather not talk about her. She's making this divorce a nightmare!"

"Really? What's she doing?" Hunter asked frowning.

"Gahhh…" Shawn played with the straw in his cup before cursing silently under his breath. "She wants custody of Michael. You should have seen that trick she pulled after Mania. She and Adam are supposedly a couple now – not that I care. But Hunter… You've no idea. You _really_ have no idea."

"Wow. That's…but I mean, don't get me wrong, I know how you feel about your son but most women want their children especially if they only have one."

"And I wouldn't have a problem with it if she wasn't being such an ass about it. Then there's the fact that I'd still have to fight every year to get him and take him to Mania. Oh and of course you know of the bogus restraining order she took out on my baby. A restraining order!" Shawn scoffed. "I often wonder how I managed to live with her for so long but I don't regret it. I can't regret it because of my son but enough about this. It's a pain, but we're not here to discuss my problems. Now tell me what's wrong with you and Stephanie."

"What _isn't_ wrong," he grumbled. He took another sip of his beer and stared off in the distance.

"Hunter, what's bothering you? You've helped me so many times. Even if I can't help, the least I can do is listen and maybe try."

Hunter scratched his head. "Well…I can't say right now. All I know is that Stephanie and I have hit a huge boulder in our marriage. It's like we can no longer stand to be around each other. We're both constantly fighting for an excuse to spend as little time as possible together and it's killing me!"

"Well you both married young…"

"Yeah I know but it seems like we're losing that 'it' factor that most marriages have you know?"

"Yeah I know 'cept I don't think Rhi and I ever had an 'it' factor but none the less I loved her…still do actually."

"Yeah but you have Kim now. If I lose Stephanie then I lose everything," he replied sadly.

Shawn smiled. "I thought that too. When I…before I met Kim, I was fighting hard to keep my marriage together but it seems that the flame went out long before Kim came into my life and there was nothing I could do about it. For a long time I thought like you but then I met Kim… Meeting her was the best thing that ever happened to me. She taught me some things about myself and I love her for it. Rhi…" Shawn shook his head. "Rhi and I were doomed from the start. My mother saw it but I couldn't. I was blinded by her looks and what I thought to be true love when in fact it was all a mirage. The mirage came from me being insecure and being afraid to assert myself. The day I told Rhi I wanted a divorce was the saddest day in my life but it was also the happiest. I was no longer hiding my feelings; I was standing up for myself and recognizing reality from the mirage that was Rhianna."

"I…wow Shawn. You went all deep on me," Hunter said with a chuckle. "But I hear ya. I don't think my love for Stephanie is a mirage but something _is_ missing from our relationship and it's becoming ever so clearer with each passing day. The problem is I just don't know what. I know I love her, but… I don't know and I'm sorry for being such a bum tonight bro."

Shawn leaned across the table and kissed Hunter's forehead. "No Hunter listen, you are not being a bum. You helped me get through some really trying times and I want you to know that I'll always be there for you. You're like my brother so don't ever feel like you can't talk with me about something." Shawn glanced down at his watch. "Whoa. I think we need to get going now. DX has a show to do in Wales," he smirked.

"Yeah ok."

* * *

FYI: I approve of these fics. Why? Because they are hella good and I won't read it unless it is top notch stuff.

**_Cover by Randysdymond06_** - [Hetero] _It's a great fic that is constantly twisting and turning because of all the secrets that are being kept. Stars Shawn/Becca, Hunter/Stephanie, Kevin Nash/Krystal, Scott Hall and lots more. There are some OC's but only a few and they are all well written. Check it out if you love juicy fics. _[angst/drama]

**_Lost by vadg_** - [SLASH] _It's a short oneshot that's based on the storyline that took place between HBK and JBL around November 2008. It's a GREAT read. I know. The pairing is kind of disgusting but it's not what you think at all. There's no sex. I HIGHLY recommend this fic and any other fics by this author because she is amazing. One of the best on this site. _[angst/comfort]

**_Hidden Secrets, Diaries of the WWE Superstars by Taker-took-my-Toys_** - [SLASH-ish] _I swear I've plugged this fic in all my stories so far but I swear on all that is good that this is the funniest fic you will ever read. I kid you not. Punk a lone ranger? Koslov hiding from Russians? Christian living in Jericho's ceiling? Jeff Hardy sleep walking? Dude. You must read this fic. It will cure all your ills._ [humor/crack]


	4. Chapter 4

Eric sat at the very back of the corporate plane with his head phones on, listening to the football game. He figured if he listened to the ballgame then he wouldn't be bothered by anyone especially his annoying business partner. He closed his eyes and tried losing himself to the game but it wasn't long before something sweet aroused his senses. _Berries? What the hell_? He opened his eyes to find Stephanie sitting across from him. Her short black skirt was doing nothing to cover her legs as she sat crossed legged, glaring at him.

"It's impolite to stare," he muttered. "Didn't your father have the time to teach you manners? He had time enough to spoil you."

"And didn't _your_ father ever teach _you_ proper manners? It's impolite to be rude!"

"No, guess he didn't but I am well aware that it's impolite to be rude. Staring is rude therefore you're the one being impolite…which is rude."

"I…well I wasn't…OOOOOOO YOU MAKE ME SO MAD SOMETIMES! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A JERK?!?!" Stephanie screamed. Eric just chuckled before closing his eyes and turning up the volume on his headphones. Stephanie stood to her feet and stormed away to the front of the plane.

"Damn him," she muttered. _Why on earth did I even bother? He's such a jerk! No wonder daddy likes him…_She turned her attention back towards Eric. He looked as if he were now drifting off to sleep. _Not today…the asshole_. She stormed back towards him and snatched the headphones off his head.

"HEY…WHAT THE…oh…you…_again_," he muttered. "Look princess, can you just let me be? I know you find me positively irresistible but seriously, it's starting to get a little aggravating or bothersome. No wonder Hunter looks so down in the dumps lately. You probably nag him to death all the time." Stephanie stared at him with a horrified look on her face before settling back down in the seat across from him. She tried to think of a good comeback but his last statement kept running through her head. _I…nag Hunter? I think not. What does he know?_ But still…the comment hit home and she wasn't even aware that she was crying until Eric called her out on it.

"Oh come on princess. Don't cry…I was just…"

"Being a jerk right? Doing what you do best. I should have listened…you warned me but I didn't listen."

"Yeah I did but…I didn't mean anything by it. I was just trying to hurt your feelings…but it's not what it sounds like," he added quickly.

"Yeah sure…you did a damn good job." She sat their quietly for the next few minutes before finally speaking up again. "So…so Hunter…looks so down…lately?" Eric raised an eyebrow curiously letting out a small breath.

"Yeah, but I am just speaking strictly on behalf of protecting my investment. He…just doesn't seem to be as focused on wrestling as he should be. He looks lost in thought all the time…but like I said, that's just my opinion. I don't want or need to know…"

"We're having some problems—

"I don't want to know," he said cutting her off.

"I wish I knew what was up…"

"Stephanie!"

"Fine…I just…you're a guy…and you're somewhat older than Hunter…"

"_Somewhat_?"

"Okay. So you're a lot older than Hunter but…you know what bothers men and so I was just wondering…"

"Forget it. I don't want to get involved. Besides, once I try to help you then you'll want to repay me by getting all in my business and that's just not going to happen."

"No I…never mind." She kicked off her heels and laid back, the chair turning into a recliner and it wasn't long before she was sound asleep.

**~*~**

Eric finished listening to his football game and when he sat up, he noticed that Stephanie was stretched out across from him fast asleep. As he watched her sleep, a smile crept up on him. He had a great view of her legs. His eyes were in heaven as they trailed her legs down to her feet which were right beside him. For a brief moment an image of himself kissing her feet while caressing her baby smooth legs popped into his head but he shook the thought quickly. Watching her reminded him of watching his ex-wife. He closed his eyes too welcoming a good sleep.

**~*~*~**

Hunter and Shawn arrived at the arena in Wales before most of the other wrestlers. Vince wanted to meet with them briefly before they started prepping for the night's match. Vince's door was already ajar when they arrived.

"Hey, come on in guys. Have a seat. I have some news."

Hunter and Shawn cut each other curious looks as they sat down across from Vince. "So what's up? What have we done this time?" Shawn asked grinning.

"Oh…nothing. I just…I wanted to talk about adding another member to DX…" Immediately Shawn and Hunter shook their heads. "Look Vince, I know how you feel about Cena but I just don't think…" Hunter started but Vince raised a hand silencing him.

"I wasn't talking about Cena. As for the new member, it's only going to be temporary. She's making her official return next week on Raw but the quickest and easiest way to put her over is to let her hang out with you two for a while."

"_Return?_" Shawn asked.

"_She_?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah she's been here before. She just needed some time to figure things out but now she's pumped and ready to entertain the fans all over again."

"Well who is she?" Shawn asked.

"It's Stacy." Shawn cut his eyes towards Hunter but he continued to stare at the floor as though he had not heard what Vince said. "Is…this going to be a problem?" Vince asked.

"Well…" Shawn started but Hunter shook his head.

"No…It'll be fine. I just wish you would have told us sooner. We could have been better prepared. Come on Shawn. We need to get ready. Where is she?" Hunter asked impatiently. He had already stood to his feet and was gripping the back of his chair to keep from falling over out of shock.

"I'm right here," Stacy said softly. She had been standing at the door silently listening to the discussion. Hunter turned and his face went pale at the sight of her. She looked so beautiful. Her long blonde hair and small frame was as sexy as ever. It didn't help that she was wearing the tiniest of shorts and with a camo halter showing off more of her body.

"Oh…hey…you look…." Hunter started but Shawn grabbed his arm and ushered him past Stacy.

"We have to get going Stace but meet us in about ten minutes in our locker room." Shawn dragged his buddy down the hall straight into their locker room closing the door behind them. "Hunter, get a grip. You were about to lose it back there."

"I'm trying but man…this is not going to help my situation with Stephanie at all."

"Does she know about you and Stacy?" Shawn pressed.

"Well…just bits and pieces. She knows that we used to date but that's about it."

"Is there more to it than that?"

"No…not really…I don't know Shawn. At the time…let's just forget it. As long as you don't leave us alone everything will be fine."

"Uh…ok," he frowned. "But you can't possibly still love her…"

"After almost two years, you saw Kim and…"

"Alright. Alright. I see your point," Shawn grumbled. He sat down on the bench next to his friend. "Well I'll help you as much as I can but true love always has a way of coming back to us."

"But I'm already spoken for and I still love Steph."

"Um…Rhianna?"

"Good point but you and Rhi were doomed from the start. Stephanie and I…things are just weird lately. They haven't always been that way."

"Like I said, I'll do what I can but…"

The door burst open and in walked Stacy looking around nervously. "You…told me to meet you here," she mumbled staring at the floor.

"Uh…yeah," Shawn smiled. "Hunter's going to get your things then brief you about tonight. We'll get together after the show to go over next week's plan. So um…I'll see you two later." Shawn cut his buddy a pleading look before exiting the locker room. There was a brief awkward silence before Stacy spoke up.

"Look, Hunter I…I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable. I didn't know Vince was going to…and…"

"Hey, it's ok," he replied, forcing a grin. "There's no need for you to apologize. I'm the one who should be apologizing here. I've been acting like a jerk and I'm sorry."

She sat down on the bench next to him and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. "I'm not here to cause trouble if that's what you're afraid of. I know my place."

"I know you'd never do anything to intentionally cause trouble. I just haven't been at my best lately and when I heard you were coming back… but everything will be ok," he lied. "You can stay in DX as long as you like." _Like hell she can…What am I saying?_

"Really?" she smiled, her face lighting up for the first time all night.

"Yeah. However long it takes for you to get comfortable in front of the camera again." _I really need to shut up now but I can't stop myself…_

"Oh thank you!" She leaned over and pulled him into a warm hug. He reluctantly put his arms around her returning the embrace trying his best to keep cool. "You're the best," she whispered.

"Always have been," he joked.

She pulled away and started for the door. "I know. I just wish I realized that sooner." She stared back at him teary-eyed before exiting out the door leaving Hunter a confused mess.


	5. Chapter 5

Stephanie and Eric were silent as they exited the plane. They gave each other curt nods before heading in separate directions into the arena. _Good riddance... _Eric hurried off towards his office to get himself ready for the nights' show. They were in Wales which meant the show had to be perfect. Foreign countries were always the most loyal when it came to the world of wrestling entertainment so he wanted to put on an unbelievable show. He sat down at his desk and read through the night's script. What he saw made him grin. _Stacy Keibler to join DX tonight…I wonder how Stephanie feels about this…Stacy is a beautiful woman with enchanting legs that would make any man weak in the knees… _Eric's door was suddenly flung open and in walked Hunter.

"Hunter, what can I do for you today? You know, shouldn't you be getting ready? You're on in ten."

"Well…uh…I just…I need you to talk with Vince."

"About what?" he asked though he was fairly certain he knew where this was going.

"Stacy. I can't…I don't think it's a good idea for her to be in DX."

"Oh and why not? You guys are the most popular in all of professional wrestling. Vince knows and I know that this is the quickest and easiest way to put her over."

"Yeah I get that but…can't she just do some warped up storyline with say…Batista or somebody. Let her be his love interest or something."

"I don't think Batista has the time. Besides, he's on Smackdown and that would require a butt load of rescheduling that no one has time for and you know as well as I know how difficult your wife can be. You'll be alright. Give her just two pay-per-views and you can kick her to the curb as you see fit."

"Fine," he muttered. "Say…have you seen her…my wife?"

"No. Not since we got off the plane twenty minutes ago. Why? Is something wrong?"

"What _isn't_ wrong," he mumbled. "I needed to…but never mind. She'll find out tonight. Anyway, thanks Eric. I gotta run."

**~*~**

Later on after the show, Hunter followed his wife into her office closing the door behind them. "Stephanie, talk to me."

"About what?" she snapped.

"You seem upset about all this."

"Hunter, do what you want. I have no problem with Stacy being in DX. I'm pretty sure it was all my father's doing anyway."

"Yeah…but—

"Why is it a problem for you when it's not for me? Is there something you need to tell me Hunter?"

"Nothing you don't already know."

"Alright then. Let's drop it. You do your job and don't worry about me. I love you and I trust you." She walked up to him and cupped his face, pulling him into a slow lingering kiss. "Sweetheart, I know you and Stacy were once in love and that's ok. You never really get over someone you love, but I'm sure you're both capable of doing business so I'm not going to let it worry me. Besides, we have enough to worry about without adding Stacy to the mix."

"But I'm the one who's doing all the worrying because you won't tell me what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Stephanie honey, the past few weeks we have been constantly arguing and I have no idea why. But I tell you this; it usually starts with you complaining about something."

At this remark Stephanie raised her eyebrows and stared at him crossly. "I complain because you don't listen."

"I do listen but—

"No you don't," she snapped. "When I try to explain to you how I feel you cut me off or pacify me! We're not newlyweds anymore Hunter. Our children are a handful and…"

"I told you to hire a nanny!"

"But we both agreed to take care of our children on our own when we first married!" she retorted.

"Yeah but since we're both on the road you know that's damn near impossible!"

"Even so Hunter the load falls back to me. I do everything—

"But I work!" he yelled. "What do you want me to do? To be honest Stephanie, I'd love to take a vacation and spend more time with the kids but I'm needed here right now. You on the other hand don't have to be GM of Smackdown. You know Vince can get any of his old buddies to do the job while you're away."

"But that's exactly my point. I _could_ do it but I want _you_ to do it sometimes."

"How? You seem to have all the answers so tell me how…?"

"You know…never mind. I wasn't…saying that you have to take off work. I was just saying that if we don't start spending more time together as a family, we're going to keep falling apart," she cried. Hunter let out a sigh as he reached out to Stephanie but she pulled away. "I…I have to go see Eric. I'll see you at some point."

"Fine," he muttered as he led the way out of her office.

***~*~***

Eric closed his eyes and sighed. Next week's show had been on his mind all evening. In just a few days he would be forced to face his fear of women due to a change some stupid writer made to his script. _Ugh…Why me? Nope. Not me. I'm calling to have it changed tonight. _ Eric started for the door in hopes of leaving but his heart sank when he heard the knock. _What now?_ "Uh…come in." In walked Stephanie and she did not look too happy. "_Oh_. It's just you. What can I do for you princess?" The exasperated tone of his voice made Stephanie frown.

"I came to talk with you about next week's show."

Eric rolled his eyes. "What about it?"

"Well…as you know, I am not very happy about having to lock lips with a jerk like you, but I have decided to go through with it."

"What? Come again?"

"I said I want to go through with it. So what's the plan?" Eric opened his mouth several times to respond but no words would escape him. He had not expected Stephanie to agree to the kiss and he was just about to have the segment cancelled before she walked in on him. Now he had no idea what to do. "What? Don't tell me Mr. Big Bad Jerk is afraid of a little kiss," she teased.

He frowned. "You must be joking. Afraid of a little kiss? Darling you're the one who should be afraid," he scoffed though it was hardly the truth. "Look, what are we doing? You don't like me. I don't like you. Let's just scratch the segment and get on with our lives." He headed towards the door but she stopped him by throwing herself in front of it. "Get out of my way little girl. I don't have time for one of your tantrums tonight."

"No. I want to do the segment," she insisted.

Eric stared down at her curiously for the longest of times before a wide grin crossed his face. "Stacy and Hunter starting to get to you I see," he said softly.

"No…I could care less about his ex being apart of his little group. They could sleep together and I wouldn't…" Her voice began to crack and she looked down at the floor. The tears that she spent all evening during the show trying to suppress were starting to stream down her face and onto the floor. Eric lifted her chin staring deep into her eyes, something he would regret later on.

"Hey, it's going to be ok," he whispered.

"No it's not," she choked. "I can't compete with _that_. Just look at her!"

"Princess, she can't even come close to matching you. You have everything a man looks for in a woman." _Everything that I look for in a woman which scares me…_

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"No I'm not. I mean it. Look at me." She raised her eyelids staring back into eyes that were normally cold, but not now. Instead they were full of a warmth and concern that she found herself melting into.

"Eric."

"I wouldn't lie to you because I have no reason to now will you stop crying and smile? I don't like you but your smile is to die for and your eyes…" He cupped her face so that he had her undivided attention. "Your eyes…your lips," he whispered. He let his thumbs brush her lips and they parted, her warm breath sending a current through him. She reached up to touch him and his eyes closed, taking in the warmth of her hands.

"Eric please…look at me," she whimpered. He slowly opened his eyes again and all he could see were her slightly parted lips just begging to be touched.

"Princess," he whispered as he leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against hers. _Oh God. What am I doing? I can't kiss her! _Eric quickly backed away from her before he could do the unthinkable. _That was close…_ She immediately turned and headed out the door not bothering to look behind. Eric's weak legs led him to a chair and he sat cursing under his breath. _I almost kissed her but…but why? I am a sucker for a crying woman but this isn't the first time I've wanted to kiss that woman and I don't even like her!_

"She's beautiful," he muttered. _Too beautiful for her own damn good. _


	6. Chapter 6

Stephanie hurried out of Eric's office and straight to her limo. She needed to get away so she could breathe and possibly make some kind of sense of what just happened. "Hey driver, take me to the hotel."

"Uh…maam, I can't leave yet. Eric is on his way to the limo."

"Oh…ok." _Damn. I forgot I had to wait on him. I suppose I could have gotten Hunter to drop me off…no, I don't want to see him right now…_

The right door flung open and Eric slid inside. "Driver to the…_Stephanie?_" he scoffed. "There's just no getting rid of you I see," he grumbled.

"Yeah well I was on my way to the hotel but I forgot that we came here together. I'll be out of your way soon enough hotshot. Driver, go please."

"Fine. We'll drop you off first. What hotel are you booked to stay in?"

"Hyatt. The only one I'll stay in."

"Hyatt?"

"Yes. You deaf?" she snapped.

"No…no I'm not deaf. I just…what a series of unfortunate events," he chuckled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Not a thing." _She'll find out soon enough…_ They were both silent all the way to the hotel. When the limousine finally came to a halt Eric got out first while Stephanie tipped the driver. When she saw him starting for the hotel, she frowned.

"Um…I can see myself in thank you. I don't need an escort."

"Sorry honey. I wouldn't _dream_ of escorting you. For your information princess I am staying here tonight too. Like I said earlier, how unfortunate!"

"No way… Ohhhh…damn him!" _I could just murder my father for this… _

When they entered the hotel lobby they were immediately greeted by the manager. "Eric! Stephanie! Good to have you here. Let me show you to your room."

"Rooms," Eric mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Rooms. You said room the first time," Stephanie commented.

"Um…yes, you're quite right. I meant room." The manager saw the blank look on their faces and he winced. "You see, your father booked only one room and if that doesn't please you then I am so sorry because we are completely booked for the evening. I'm…sorry."

"WHAT THE HELL?!? I CAN'T ROOM WITH HER!" Eric yelled pointing at Stephanie.

"Yeah well I don't want to room with you either but looks like we have no choice," she said smugly, highly amused by outburst. She didn't want to room with him anymore than he did but she was going to play it cool. Eric as too smug for his own good and she was determined to show him up.

"LIKE HELL…Dammit!" he grumbled, running his hand through his hair. "Alright. Okay. Vince got me this time."

"Oh stop acting like a big baby!" Stephanie snapped. "Mr. Manager, show us the way," she gestured.

"Well just go in that elevator. Your room is the honeymoon suite on the eleventh floor. Room 218. Here are your keys and I hope you have a good night."

"Speak for yourself," Eric mumbled.

He and Stephanie rode the elevator in complete silence. When they finally got off and reached their room, they were both mad as hell. The room was very beautiful but just like any honeymoon suite, it only had one big, beautiful bed.

"Oh great. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse," Eric grumbled. Stephanie easily picked up on the heavy sarcasm in his voice but chose to ignore it. They would have to figure something out or else they would kill each other before the night was over. Their bags were already in the room so Stephanie decided to get her night clothes and head to restroom for a hot shower. After the kind of day she had, it was long overdue.

"Eric, I'm gonna get a shower and leave you be."

"Great. That works for me." He sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes trying his best to control his anger. Stephanie could sense the added tension and decided to just go on without another word.

While Stephanie was in the shower, Eric changed into some black boxers before getting into bed. He took out his I-Pod and a book to read until he was sleepy. It had been a long day and he needed to wind down a little before he could actually get to sleep.

He had no idea how long Stephanie had been out of the shower. He just happened to look up and see her standing in front of the bed. She was looking in the mirror as she ran a brush through her wet hair. Eric couldn't take his eyes off of her. Her pink nightgown barely came down to her knees. The material was so sheer that he could see all of her legs and thighs; the lacy bikini was just an added bonus. _I will not look…she's married and she annoys the hell out of me…_

Stephanie finished brushing her hair and took out some lotion. She propped her leg on the stool in front of the mirror as she rubbed the sweet smelling lotion onto her creamy legs. The nightie crept higher and higher, Eric found himself imagining things…like his hands running up those legs to her thighs and in between them…

"Eric? ERIC!"

"Huh? What?" He jumped at the sound of her voice cursing silently under his breath.

"Are you okay? Do you need some medicine? You look a little sick." Stephanie turned and crossed the room, sitting herself on the edge of the bed next to Eric. The gown was cut just low enough for her breasts to peek out highlighting the beautiful curve of each one. She leaned over and touched his forehead with the back of her hand. Eric's overly sensitive nose got a whiff of her lotion and it made him imagine more things…bad things. Her hand made its way to his neck and he couldn't take it anymore.

"STEPHANIE!" She jumped back at the sound of his voice and moved away, clearly hurt from his sudden outburst. Eric let out a sigh as he closed his book and put away his I-Pod. "I'm sorry. I just…I'm not used to people looking out for me and…I just…you were getting too close and I'm sorry."

"You probably wouldn't be such a jerk if you would just let people help you sometimes. As much as I despise your attitude it doesn't stop me from caring Eric. We're business partners and friends."

"Oh so we're friends now?"

"I'd like to think we are. We work together and in a week we'll be sharing a kiss so I think that makes us friends." She made her way to the other side of the bed climbed in.

"Uh…what are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm getting in bed. I know you didn't think for one second that I was going to sleep on the floor."

"Uh…no but…"

"What? You don't trust me? If it makes you feel any better I promise to stay on my side of the bed."

"I have no doubt in my mind but don't you think…Hunter will freak…"

"Hunter doesn't have to know. Besides, you hate me remember? You couldn't bear to touch me so it doesn't matter."

Eric looked over at Stephanie and sighed. "I don't hate you alright. Don't say things like that. It makes me sound like a cruel person."

"But you _can_ be cruel." She rolled over to face him but he just turned away. "See? You can't even look me in the eye because you know I'm telling the truth." She rolled back over and stared at the wall. Eric slid under the covers and turned off the lamp. _I can't look you in the eye because every time I do, I want to kiss you. _He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but Stephanie's tossing and turning kept him awake. She did this for several minute until he just couldn't stand it anymore. _Alright…enough of this…it's two in the morning and I need to sleep._

"Stephanie is there some particular reason why you can't sleep?" he asked softly.

"Well…I just…I'm not comfortable," she muttered.

"Then get comfortable," he hissed.

"I can't because…you're mean and I don't feel like arguing."

"Tell me what to do to make you comfortable and I will. I am sleepy and at this point I'm willing to sell my soul to get some sleep!"

"I…well alright." She inched closer to him until her back was against him causing him to gasp.

"Stephanie…what are you doing?"

"Now put your arm around me," she whispered.

"What? No way. Your husband will kill me!"

"Just do it or sleep on the floor," she hissed irritably. "Your choice."

Eric reluctantly put his arm around her waist resting his hand near her tummy. She leaned back against him and soon began to relax. Eric was so nervous that he almost considered sleeping on the floor but the smell of Stephanie's hair and the softness of her skin held him captive. Her lovely shoulders were exposed from the sleeveless gown and they were just begging to be touched. Like a magnet pulling him near, his lips soon found her shoulder brushing against them. From there his lips made their way towards her neck where he took in the captivating scent of her body wash.

He watched her pulse beating steadily, tempting him in ways he never thought possible. He bent his head kissing her neck softly. The feeling of her pulse on his lips made him shudder and almost lost control if it wasn't for her barely audible moan. He stopped. _What the hell am I doing? This is a very married woman with a husband who could kill me in one blow. What's wrong with me? _He pulled back from her and just buried his head in the back of her neck shutting down all of his senses.

"Good-night princess. Sweet…sweet dreams."

"Good-night Eric."

* * *

**AN: I just love Eric! He is the biggest jerk next to Vince McMahon and I love it! Bwahahaha He should have stuck around the WWE more. Raw was great when he was GM…He was a power hungry lunatic…Ahh, those were the days…Uh…don't know when the next update will be. I have like eight stories I'm working on and my slash ones get top priority because let's face it. Slash rules with an iron fist.**


	7. Chapter 7

Eric woke up the next morning before Stephanie and quietly started dressing himself. He was already feeling flustered after having been so close to Stephanie and the fact that Hunter had already called twice was just another reason to get the heck up out of there. If he were to find the two of them in bed, no matter how innocent it was he was going to freak out. _I don't need this. I should just stay away despite what she says._

"Eric?"

"Hmmm? Go back to sleep princess," he whispered. _Why isn't she sleeping? Damn this woman…_

"Why are you leaving so early?" she asked, rolling around to face him.

"Well…I have some things I need to do," he lied.

"Oh…well okay but…aren't you going to eat something?"

"Uh…" He hadn't really planned on it. He was just trying to hurry and get the heck out of there before an irate husband decided to pop in.

"Eric, if you don't eat something…"

"Fine. If it'll shut you up I'll go and grab a bite to eat," he groaned.

"Why do you have to be so…? You know, I can't understand why I even care," she mumbled.

"I don't know either. Maybe you should stop caring," he muttered. _It sure as heck would make my life a whole lot easier._

"Jesus Eric! You're such an… Just go," she huffed pulling the covers over her head.

"Fine, I'll…" There was a knock at the door and both just froze.

"Stephanie, sweetheart, are you in there?" Stephanie quickly sat up in bed and just froze. Eric didn't know whether he should answer for her or just keep his mouth shut. Either way, the situation would be misunderstood so they were both now officially fucked.

"Uh…yeah…give me a second. You woke me up," she grumbled. Stephanie slid out of bed and sprinted towards Eric. She grabbed him by the arm and started ushering him towards the closet.

"Stephanie, what the hell…?"

"Just get in there and keep still!" she hissed.

"But…I thought you didn't care what Hunter thought?" he hissed back.

"Yeah well right now I don't feel like dealing with him for something so trivial so in case you wish to have the hell beat out of you then I suggest you stay put." She shoved him in the closet and closed it shut. She made sure Eric's clothes were out of sight before opening the door. Eric just rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath. _This is what I get for being such an asshole. If he finds me then it serves me right…_

"Honey, are you alright?" he heard Hunter asked. It took everything he had not to laugh out loud. _Of course she's alright. In fact, she's more than alright…_

"Uh…yeah. Just…tired," he heard her say.

_Tired?!_ Eric scoffed._ Give me break! She slept like a baby…and I did too now that I think about it._

"Tired? You didn't get much sleep huh?" Hunter asked.

"Uh…not really but I'm gonna go back to bed for a while in a few. When you called, I was finally starting to drift off." Again Eric had to suppress laughter.

"Alright sweetheart. I was just checking on you. When you didn't answer your phone I thought…but I see you're ok. Anyway, I am going to the gym to work out with Shawn then we're going to lunch. I'll see you later tonight alright?"

"Yeah." He leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips before heading out the door. When Stephanie was sure he was gone, she let out a huge breath before collapsing on the bed again. Eric quickly emerged from the closet wearing the smuggest of grins. Stephanie just rolled her eyes.

"Wow. That was quite the show princess."

"Oh just shut up," she muttered.

"Do you always lie to your husband?" he asked softly, standing over the bed grinning at her. She quickly rolled off the bed and stomped towards him staring him down.

"No I don't but for some reason I couldn't help myself this time. I suppose I was just trying to save _your_ ass. Forgive me for caring," she huffed.

"Save me? I don't need saving because I didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything huh? You're lucky that kisses don't bother me," she grinned. There was a smug look about her that Eric couldn't quite comprehend.

"Kisses? What are you talking about? I never kissed…"

"You did last night."

"I did not," he replied indignantly. _Shit. She remembers…_

"Yes you did. I know you did. I felt your lips brush my shoulder…" she teased, stepping closer to him.

"I don't…" he stammered marching backwards towards the closet but she continued to close the gap between them.

"And then my neck," she finished shoving him against the closet. He glared at her for a second, clearly annoyed with her until she pursed her lips and folded her arms. "So what excuse do you have now Mr. Bischoff?"

"None at this time."

"That's what I thought."

"However…" he smirked. "I didn't hear you complaining. In fact, you sounded as if you were enjoying it."

"I…WHAT?!" she exclaimed.

"You heard me. You could have stopped me at any point but you didn't. That makes you just as guilty as I am princess."

"But I—

"Enjoyed every second of it," he said as he lowered his head to her ear. "I heard you moan with pleasure which only motivated me to keep going," he whispered.

"Then what made you stop?" she breathed.

"My conscience," he said flatly.

"You have no conscience," she snapped irritably.

"Then I did you a favor," he shrugged.

"What makes you think that?"

He smiled that arrogant smile of his making her frown. "Because," he said, lowering his head to nip at her neck. He used his tongue to trail a path back up to her ear causing her to gasp. "I'd hate for you to scream out my name when you're making love to Hunter."

"I'd…I'd need a reason to," she stammered, clearly shocked by his actions yet turned on at the same time.

"Don't tempt me."

The way his voice wavered gave her just the ammunition she needed."Why shouldn't I? Your conscience will stop you before you could start."

"Oh really?" He took this opportunity to bend over and cradle her into his arms.

"Eric, what are you…?" He carried her over to the bed laying her down gently before lowering himself on top of her.

"I told you not to tempt me princess." He lowered his head and began kissing her neck. His hands wandered up her legs under the nightie towards her thighs. His tongue found the pulse of her neck and sucked on it softly, not nearly hard enough to leave a mark. She had to bite her lip to suppress the shudder that went through her body. "Is this what you want princess?" he whispered softly, kissing her earlobe. When she chose not to respond, he lifted himself off of her and headed out the door leaving her behind.

**~*~*~**

Shawn and Hunter did a few warm ups before doing some all American wrestling on the gym mat. Shawn won the first three bouts with Hunter winning the next two. When Shawn ended up winning another round, Hunter called it quits.

"Awe come on man. I know you aren't about to give up that easily."

"As you can see, my head isn't in the game today."

"I see. So did you see your wife this morning?"

"Yeah I did. As you know, she and I had separate hotel rooms."

"Was that really necessary?" Shawn asked, his brows raised curiously.

"I suppose since she couldn't stand to be in the same room with me."

"What about you though? How did you manage to cope last night?"

"Well, uh…I…kind of had company," he winced.

"Company? Now Hunter—

"Just a sec Shawn." Hunter held up his hands. "In my defense, before you start lecturing me, think about your vacation in Miami. You had 'company' over one night and look at you now?"

"Okay. Alright. Fine. So how'd it go?"

"Uh…"

"Hunter…" Shawn warned. "How did it go? Do I need to be prepared for a war here?"

"No just…just hear me out. I took a shower…"

**~~XX~~**

Hunter quickly showered and headed out to the parking lot. His wife was being a complete ass so he wanted to just get back to the hotel and get some shut eye. He was almost to his car when he heard someone call out to him.

"Hunter!" He turned to see Stacy running towards him.

"Oh hey Stace. What's up?"

"Oh…well um…Vince said that you and I were staying at the same hotel. I was just wondering if I could get a ride back with you."

"Oh…of course you can. No need to ask. Just hop in," he said grinning._ Steph probably wouldn't like this but at the moment I'm too pissed to care._

A few minutes later they were back at the hotel and Hunter found himself inviting Stacy to spend some time with him. It wasn't that he had evil intentions. In all honesty, he could never actually cheat on his wife but right now he could use a friendly face. With Stephanie acting like the spoiled brat she could be, he needed something positive to focus on and Stacy was the perfect substitute. Hunter grabbed some cokes out of the fridge then took his seat next to Stacy on the couch.

"So how are things with you and Steph?" she asked, taking a sip of her coke.

"Oh well…things are good," he said laughing.

"I see. Are you sure?"

"Um…yeah…" But he took too long to answer which made her suspicious.

"You're lying," she answered flatly.

"How would you…?"

"Because I could always tell when something was bothering you or when you were lying. What's really going on between the two of you?" she asked sincerely. "I'm asking you as a friend and not just someone who wants to get all in your business. You know me better than that so talk to me."

Hunter just sat his coke on the end table before running a hand through his hair. "I don't know Stace. I mean, I _think _we're ok…just not great right now."

"What's wrong? Is it just stress?"

"I…guess you could say that," he winced. Stacy just stared at him with those beautiful brown eyes of hers causing something inside him to stir. Now he remembered why he didn't want her in DX. She was too good. She placed her drink down and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Well…whatever it is, I hope you can get through it," she answered softly. "I can tell that it's really bothering you even though you do your best to hide it."

Hunter didn't know why but his natural instincts told him to put his arm around her and pull her closer. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. It was a subconscious reaction that he didn't really mean to do. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be alright. You should know me by now."

"But I can't help but to worry. I've _always_ worried about you Hunter. Despite our…history, I could never stop worrying about you." She pulled away from him and captured him again with her alluring stare. "It's hard to stop worrying about someone you care about." She lowered her head staring at the floor. "I…I need to go." She stood to her feet, wiping her eyes as she darted for the door.

"You're leaving now?" he asked standing to his feet. A part of him wanted her to go away – far, far away – but then the other part of him hated to see her leave. He followed her over to the door stopping merely inches in front of her. "You know you can't just leave without giving me a hug. We're DX…We're family now," he said flashing her a warm smile.

"Yeah…you're right," she replied softly. He grabbed her and pulled her into a warm embrace that was all too familiar to him. He patted her head as she nuzzled into his chest. He could feel her warm breath through his shirt and it was making him extremely uncomfortable. She suddenly pulled away, staring up at him with her lips poked out in a bit of a pout. He didn't even realize he was kissing her until he felt the tiny fingers teasing his spine. Her warm tongue suddenly entered his mouth and he went nuts, pushing her back against the door.

"Hunter." She moaned into his mouth, arching into him when he pressed his hips against hers. _Stacy…Stace…Steph…Oh God… Stop Hunter! Stop it!_ When it finally dawned on him what was happening, he stopped himself and quickly apologized to Stacy.

"I'm…I'm sorry," he stammered. "I don't know…"

"It's ok," she whispered before hurrying out the door.

**~~XX~~**

"Oh man," Shawn winced. "That's—

"It's cheating. I know," Hunter mumbled. "I cheated on my wife with my ex and it hasn't even been two good weeks!"

"You didn't… Yeah you did but at least you stopped yourself," Shawn reasoned, trying his best to sound upbeat. "You do realize what this sounds like though right?" Shawn asked, smirking at his friend.

Hunter looked up at him and shook his head. "Oh, no. No, no, no…no you don't. _Don't_ say that. This is _nothing_ like you and Kim."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that bro. I tried to tell Cena. He's having a bit of a time with women at the moment too but you…" Shawn shook his head. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't avoid Stacy forever you know and pretty soon you and Stephanie are going to have to decide whether or not your marriage is worth saving."

"Just like you huh?"

"Yeah…just like me."


	8. Chapter 8

Stephanie just laid there in bed staring up at the ceiling. She was glad that both Eric and Hunter were far away so that she could catch her breath. It had been a crazy morning so far that could have possibly ruined her marriage for good had it not been for that huge closet and Eric's willingness to remain quiet. _Eric…_ Stephanie rolled over onto her stomach and groaned into the sheets. She was pretty sure that Eric was a great guy. If he wasn't then he wouldn't have thought twice about sleeping with "the boss' daughter", but he was afraid. He was actually terrified of Stephanie and it kind of irked her. She didn't want him or anyone else for that matter to be afraid of her. If anything all she wanted was for Eric to like her…and possibly open up to her more to make their working together a little more pleasant.

But Eric was being complicated. To the average person Eric came off as an arrogant jerk but she knew better. After last night and this morning she knew it was all a façade to hide his real personality. He'd let his guard down for her on several occasions revealing a sensitive, caring man who was a little more than irresistible despite his age. But every time Stephanie thought he would do something taboo, he would pull back as if it was wrong. Well…maybe it _was_ wrong. Married women shouldn't be so willing to give themselves to other men but Eric was different. It wasn't that she wanted to cheat on Hunter. Even though she couldn't stand the sight of Hunter these days, she still loved him with all her heart but Eric… _I want to help him. I want to see the caring, sensitive man at work and not the arrogant jerk he pretends to be. How? How can I get to him without crossing the line? _Stephanie drew a huge breath then a smile crept on her face. She could still smell Eric's cologne tickling her senses which brought her back to earlier that morning. When he scooped her into his arms and placed her on the bed, it was romantic, gentle, and sweet. _He practically swept me off my feet and for a moment I lost myself within him…_

"I am so going to call this partnership off. It's not working." She rolled out of bed and traipsed across the room to find her purse. She reached inside, pulled out her phone, and quickly dialed her father's number. Of course he did not pick up but that was to be expected of one of the world's biggest businessmen. _Damn. I'll catch him before the show though. I have got to get away from Eric before my curiosity gets the best of me._

**~*~*~**

By the time the nights taping of Raw was about to start, Eric was no more ready to play GM than he had been that morning. For starters, he was still nervous and jumpy, his nerves having almost been shot the night before. Over the course of the afternoon he picked up an excruciating headache and he was pretty sure it came from that woman Stephanie. _Stephanie._ He wished that she would get out of his head and go away but no matter how hard he tried, that face and those lips would pop into his head uninvited. Each time he found himself sitting doing nothing, his thoughts reverted back to the beautiful, billion dollar princess and her silky smooth thighs or her nice succulent neckline. Eric cursed himself under his breath. _Fuck!_ _Why in the hell did I put my hands on her? That was a pretty damn stupid thing to do_. There was a knock on his door causing Eric to jump.

"Hey Eric? It's me Shawn. Can I have a word?"

Shawn poked his head in the door and Eric motioned for him to com inside. "Sure. Have a seat." Shawn entered his office door closing it behind him. He walked up to Eric's desk and sat down in one of the recliners across from him. "What can I do for you Michaels?"

"Well…I was just wondering…" Shawn ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well…I was just wondering…how much longer are we going to have to keep Stacy in the group?"

"I don't know," Eric replied. "Is…there…a problem?" he asked slowly, wrinkling his brow.

"Uh…well…you know whatever I say has to stay confidential right? You can't go runnin' your mouth because I don't think I'm supposed to tell you this. I think it's some kind of bro code but I swear I can't take it anymore!"

"Calm down sexy boy!" Eric laughed. "Yes, I know. Believe me. I'd hate to lose the only job that I've ever enjoyed," he grinned. "So tell me, what's the problem?"

"It's not really a problem per se but…I can't really explain…Ahh this is so complicated!"

Eric sighed. "Is Stacy causing problems between you and Hunter? I know you both aren't crushing on the same girl. I thought you were happily married?"

"Not yet but I will be." Eric looked slightly confused at this but Shawn waved it off. "No. I see the look and you're a little late. I'm in the middle of a divorce and an engagement but I haven't the time to talk about me right now," he said quickly.

"Alright. So why are the two of you so anxious to get rid of Stacy? Is she making moves on you or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that but…"

The door of Eric's office flew open and in walked Stephanie followed closely by Hunter and Vince. Stephanie looked absolutely livid with anger while both Vince and Hunter looked more annoyed than anything. Eric and Shawn both jumped to their feet but Vince motioned for them to stay seated.

"No, you two are ok. We all need to have a chat anyway," Vince said gruffly shutting the door behind him.

"Uh…ok," Eric said doing his best to suppress the urge to run away. _What now? I hope I'm not in trouble. I haven't been here a month and already were having closed meetings…_

"Alright I'll start with you Hunter. Why is it that you want Stacy out of DX?" Vince asked.

"I didn't say that I wanted her out," he explained quickly. "I just…don't think she needs to stick around too long. She might ruin our image."

"Ruin your image?" Vince repeated. Vince did not sound convinced at all but he kept it to himself. "Alright. Fair enough reason but my answer is still no. Give it another two weeks or so and then I might consider it although personally, I think it makes you two look a lot better. Having a female in the group does wonders."

"But…" Hunter started but Vince cut him off.

"Unless…you want Cena to join you in DX?"

"NO!" Shawn blurted out. Everyone's head turned casting Shawn curious looks. Shawn shifted nervously in his seat before offering an explanation. "You know Cena and I don't see eye to eye. It was hard enough working with him while Hunter was gone. Don't make matters worse for us." Stephanie quirked her brow and then stifled back a laugh. _Yeah right. I think Cena's secretly gay for you and it makes you nervous… _Shawn caught the tease in Stephanie's eye and his face flushed.

"Women," he mumbled.

Eric saw that this was getting nowhere. "Vince, I'm not trying to get in your business nor am I trying to tell you what to do but Shawn seems to think that Stacy is a hindrance too. If both of them feel the same way then do you not think that maybe there's some truth in what they say?" Eric offered. He had no idea what was really going on with Hunter and Shawn but he knew that Stacy was Hunter's old flame which meant that there was chance Hunter was risking his marriage by working with her. As for the Cena thing, Eric wasn't even going to entertain that theory.

"I see your point Eric," Vince started, "But…"

"Oh why not call it like it is," Stephanie said flatly. "Stacy is Hunter's ex woman. I'm pretty certain she's already put the moves on him otherwise he wouldn't be so desperate to get rid of her." Everyone in the room got silent and you could feel the tension building.

"Stephanie you know that's not true," Hunter said hotly.

"If you say so." She turned away from him and stared at Eric as if daring him to say something smart. Of course, since they were both on the same page, he easily read her mind.

_Don't worry princess. Your secret's safe with me_. Eric shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Vince. "What are we going to do?" Eric asked.

"It doesn't matter what you do," Stephanie muttered. "Keep her in the group. If Hunter can't control his—

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL STEPHANIE?! WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO…?"

"BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY DAMN OBVIOUS THAT YOU STILL HAVE FEELINGS FOR HER! I SAW THE WAY SHE LOOKED AT YOU AND YOU DID ALL THAT YOU COULD TO AVOID HER EYES!" Stephanie yelled.

"YOU KNOW I'D NEVER…" But Vince cut them off.

"CALM…down," he said softly. Stephanie just shrugged her shoulders while Hunter stared at the floor furiously. No one said a word and Eric was starting to wonder how much longer he could sit through all the dramatic tension. It was driving him crazy. He glanced over at Stephanie and for a while, all she did was stare at the ground as well. She soon felt his eyes watching her and she cut him a look.

"_What are you staring at me for?"_

"_Are you okay princess?" _

The look on his face changed from complete asshole to a look of genuine concern. It was so heartfelt that she had to quickly turn away so that he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

"Stephanie," Vince started, "I'm not taking sides in this issue but just this morning you were saying that you couldn't work with Eric anymore."

"So?" she muttered.

"Well…what makes you any more different than Hunter? If I don't let him have his way then don't you think it's only fair that I ignore your request as well?"

"But I'm your daughter!" she said clearly outraged by her father's reasoning.

"That doesn't matter when it comes to business. You know how I am. Since there's clearly no evidence that Eric is doing anything wrong then you two will continue to work together until further notice."

"BUT DADDY…"

"And Hunter, two more weeks and then we'll see. Now go. All of you. I need to speak with Eric alone." Stephanie glared at her father before turning to Eric, who was wearing one of the most insolent grins.

"_Have fun with your husband."_

"_Go fuck yourself."_

"_I can't. But maybe with some help…"_

Stephanie's eyes were filled with contempt at the smug look on Eric's face. She was pretty sure that she read his looks right and hell would surely freeze over before she did _anything _with that man. She stuck her tongue out at him before storming out the door past Hunter and Shawn. Shawn stood to his feet and drug Hunter out the door with him leaving Vince and Eric alone to chat.

"What was that all about?" Vince asked.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Why'd she stick her tongue out at you?"

"I wish I knew," he lied. Eric sat up straight in his chair and watched the chairman intently. He had no idea what Vince wanted to chat about and so he hoped that he wasn't in trouble.

"Eric…I know it's probably been hell working with Stephanie. She's my daughter and believe me I know that she can be difficult."

"That's an understatement," he mumbled.

"Still I think it's going to pay off in the long run. So what I wanted to talk to you about is…well your ex wife."

"Yeah what about her?"

"Uh…well…she's trying to get more money out of you. She claims that you owe her X amount of dollars in unpaid child support bills."

"WHAT THAT HELL?!?" Eric huffed.

"Shh…calm down Eric," Vince hissed. "You want the world to know?"

"No, but I don't owe that woman anything! And one of those kids is definitely not mine!"

"One of them?"

"Well…one of them I'm not so sure about but I paid her the money just to shut her up."

"Oh well…we need to get this figured out and fast because I'd hate for the media to be after you. Would she go there?"

"Of course," he answered bitterly. "That woman loves attention and by God she'll do anything to get it." Eric slammed his fist against the desk before laying his head down on it. "This is exactly why I hate women," he moaned.

"Not all women are bad," Vince reasoned.

"Find me a good one to prove me wrong," he challenged.

"I already have but unfortunately she's taken," Vince said with a chuckle. Eric raised his head and stared at Vince curiously. _He couldn't possibly be talking about his own daughter could he?_

"I'm…confused…"

"It's ok," he chuckled. "I know Stephanie is giving you hell but I know she could have made you a good wife."

"What are you…? Are you _serious_?" Eric asked. He let out an incredulous chuckle before leaning back in his chair.

"I am. She's great for you and it seems that you two have formed a bond of some sort. I think you two understand each other a lot more than either of you are willing to admit."

"I'm not hearing this…"

"I didn't say that you wanted her. I was just saying. Anyway, you and I will get this taken care of soon. In the meantime, my lawyer will be contacting you about your situation."

"No, wait Vince. I can't accept—

"You're staying here and that's final. Ratings are up and I love having you around. You have the experience needed to run this show and you should know by now that I take care of all my friends." Vince smiled before standing to his feet. "You shouldn't worry too much. We'll get this straightened up soon but in the meantime, take care of my daughter. As you can see, she and Hunter are having some trust issues so she needs someone like you around."

"But Vince…"

"It's for her own good. Now I'm going to take a seat and enjoy the show." With one last smile he exited the room leaving Eric more confused than ever before. Just what in the world was going on inside of Vince's brain? Had he figured out about his growing feelings for Stephanie or was he honestly trying to get him to help Stephanie? It was all too much to think about right now. Eric popped him a headache pill before heading out to start the show.

* * *

**AN: In case you haven't read the others (And in all honesty, I wouldn't read them. They were some of the very first fanfics I wrote which means they are quite tragic compared to 'The Deal' or 'HBKronicles') here's a quick rundown of what's going on.**

**R1:** _Shawn is engaged to a 23 year old named Kim and is in the middle of a divorce from his long-time wife Rhi._

**R2:** _Adam_ (Edge) _has hooked up with Shawn's current wife Rhi. _

**R3:** _Cena is dating a girl named Allison but he's also sweet on Shawn._ (But who isn't?) _Sweet or not I'm not going there in this series. _(But you best believe I will eventually.)

**R4:** _Matt is dating Brittney, Kim's best friend.  
_

**R5:** _Jeff is with Melina...ish._

Relationships 4 and 5 probably won't be detailed in this story. But you may hear of Cena soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Eric left the arena as soon as the show was over. It had been a great show and it kept his mind off of his problems for the time being. Even the segment with Stephanie went well. But now that the show was over, life hit him all over again. He needed to hurry and get back to the hotel, check out, then catch a plane back home so that he can find his ex wife. He needed to confront her about the recent shenanigans she'd come up with and maybe talk her into getting a DNA test. He had never been able to have a relationship with the kid simply because she'd never allowed him to get to know him. In fact, she'd never let him even talk to any of the kids. Most people would have found it odd, but the fact that she was always calling him a dead beat dad just made him not even care anymore. Hell, he didn't even know the kid's name or any of the children's names for that matter.

He finally reached his limo and the driver drove him back to the hotel. All Eric wanted to do was pack his things and get the hell out of town but to his unfortunate surprise Stephanie had beaten him back to the room. She did not see or hear him as he entered the room for she was already asleep on the bed. She was curled up clutching a pillow and it looked as though she may have been crying. Eric quietly closed the door behind him and started getting his stuff together. Technically he did not have to check out until the next morning by 11 am but he really needed to get home to solve his own problems. He packed his suitcases and placed them by the door. Then he grabbed his coat off the rack and his keys off the table before heading towards the door. He chanced a glance over his shoulder at the young woman curled up on the bed and sighed. _Fine. God you win. _He dropped his coat and keys on the floor then quietly crossed the room towards her. He sat down on the edge of the bed staring wondrously at the sleeping woman before him. She looked so tired and the sleeping expression was of pure worry. _I wish she wouldn't worry so much. I bet it's Hunter. Damn him for being so thoughtless. I can't deny that Stacy is a beauty but the real jewel lives with him everyday. _Eric grazed her cheek with the back of his hand, pushing the hair out of her face. She stirred a little, blinking her eyes open to see Eric staring down at her.

"Eric," she yawned. "What…where am I?"

"Well," he chuckled. "I guess you were so tired after the show that you came and curled up on the bed falling to sleep. I'm sorry if I woke you princess. You seemed to be sleeping soundly but I'm wondering if it was really sound. You looked so tense."

"Oh," she replied softly. "I…"

"Are you alright?"

"I…I guess." She sat up on the bed. Looking past Eric, she saw that his bags were packed and ready to go by the door. "Are you…leaving?" she asked. There was a hint of hurt and concern in her voice that Eric just couldn't ignore. Sighing he shook his head.

"No, not tonight but early in the morning I will be catching a plane back home."

"But…are you coming back to do the taping of Smackdown?"

"Yes, I'll be back I just…I have some things that I need to take care of first."

"Oh ok."

There was a brief awkward silence before Eric spoke up again. "Are you ready to sleep now? I can turn the air up a bit and then we can get some shut eye."

"Uh…yeah. That sounds great." Eric kicked off his shoes then started undoing his tie. He didn't even notice that Stephanie had climbed off the bed and was now standing in front of him. "Let me help you with that."

"Huh? No, wait. I got it…"

"Please…Eric. Just let me help you. You look just as tired as I am so the least I can do is help." Eric rolled his eyes and watched in fascination as Stephanie got down on her knees and proceeded to undo the buttons on his shirt. Though it was but a simple gesture, she was far too close and every now and then the tips of her fingers would just graze his skin lightly. He found himself following her fingers all the way down his torso until his shirt was completely undone, but she didn't stop there. She slid her hands up his chest and over his shoulders sliding the shirt off of him. Her fingers grazed the bare skin of his arms drawing a deep breath from his lips. She made way to stand to her feet when Eric stopped her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"My turn…princess." He slid his hands down her arms and to her sides, sliding her shirt up and over her arms revealing a beautiful black bra. From there he cupped her face pulling her lips to his. "God I want to kiss you," he muttered. _And I want to make hot, passionate love to you, listening to you moan my name… _"But I can't. I just can't do it."

"Why not?" she whispered.

"You know why." He let go of her and stood to his feet making his way to the other side of the bed. "If you want I can sleep on the floor. I feel it may be the best thing for tonight."

"No, you are just as tired as I am. We'll be alright. Besides, I uh…I want you next to me tonight." Her face was flushed and she was biting her lower lips, possibly out of nervousness. Eric was going to protest, mainly on his behalf but decided against it. He had already turned her down once tonight. Twice would be a bit much. Plus, he figured he could handle just one more night alone with the princess. The chances of them sharing another hotel room were slim to none after tomorrow since he was sure things would go back to normal, whatever that was. Stephanie would go back to being the Billion Dollar Bitch not caring of anyone but herself. She'd also go back to hating his guts while Eric would go back to the very problems he was trying to run from. _Yeah back to normal. Gotta love normal…_

Eric climbed in bed after removing his pants. He settled in making room for Stephanie to lay with him. She climbed in bed next to him wearing only her bra and underwear. Then she snuggled against him burying her head in his chest while he draped an arm around her for added comfort.

"Are you sure this is alright princess? I mean, most would prefer to sleep facing the other direction. This is a little…intimate so to speak."

"Is it bothering you?" she whispered.

"No, not at all I just…well I don't know. As long as you're happy then I'm happy."

"I'm happy," she whispered. "For the first time all night I can honestly say that I am happy."

"That's good to hear princess." He kissed the top of her head and soon both were sleeping better than ever.

***~*~***

Since Shawn had to hurry back to his room to call his fiancé, Hunter was once again left alone after the show. Stephanie was still upset with him about Stacy and after tonight's DX performance, she was probably even more pissed. Stacy had gotten slightly carried away after their victory tonight and had planted kisses on both Shawn and Hunter's lips after the match. Of course, Shawn and Kim were solid enough to not let something so trivial destroy their relationship but that was not the case with Hunter and Steph. Things had been weird for almost a year now and they were only getting worse by the day. Hunter let out a deep breath as he sat outside the arena. He was really tired and his bones were aching from his match. He also had a major headache from worrying so much about his future with Stephanie. He hated having alone time because it gave his brain the perfect opportunity to dwell on all his marital problems.

He had to admit that he and Stephanie kind of rushed into their marriage but he loved Stephanie at the time and to this very day he still loved her. He was at the point in his life now where he could never really imagine life without her. Still though, he had to admit that his feelings for Stacy never truly went away. In fact, he could almost swear that there was a hint of love for her still dwelling in his heart but he wasn't entirely sure. _Oh well. No point in me sitting out here all night dwelling on my problems._ Hunter grabbed his bags and started towards his car when a voice called out to him.

"Hunter?" He turned to see Stacy walking towards him. _Just the last person I needed to see tonight. Thanks God. _

"Hey Stace!" he said trying to sound enthused. "I thought maybe you had gone already?"

"No I…I was actually waiting up for you."

"Oh? Is something the matter?" he asked curiously.

"Uh…well, I just wanted to run something by you. I looked for Shawn but he's already gone for the night. Anyway, I uh…I stopped by Vince's office and had a little chat with him."

"Okay. Now you're scaring me," he chuckled. "Should I be afraid?"

"Oh no. No no no. It's nothing to do with you…really. I just…I talked to him and after explaining things he has agreed that it may be for the best."

Hunter stared at her curiously, a frown daunting his face. _What in the hell is up? _"So…what did you two talk about?"

"I'm leaving Raw and going over to Smackdown. I will do one more taping of Raw with DX before I start doing Smackdown tapings. I'll get to wrestle the ladies over there as well as becoming the new love interest of a certain Brian Kendrick."

"Oh…oh I…I'm really happy for you…if that's what you want," he added. He was a little taken back by her news for he wasn't expecting to hear something like this. _Leaving for Smackdown?_ There was only one reason she would do something so rash and he knew it was his fault. "Damn. Stacy I never meant to make things hard for you."

"I know that and don't think it's your fault that I'm leaving. It's more me than you. I uh…I knew that I still had feelings for you and I did my best to hide them but I couldn't. I made a pass at you and I was wrong for that, knowing full well of the circumstances. Yes, you were vulnerable that night but I should have been pushing you closer to your wife rather than trying to make you love me again."

"Is that what you were doing?"

"No, not directly but I knew of the problems that you two were having and I had every intention that night of just hanging out with you as a good friend, but I am ashamed of myself. When I got back to my hotel room that night I was angry at you. I was angry because I wanted so badly to feel your arms around me and to feel you inside of me…making sweet love to me, but…that was wrong and I was wrong…" Her voice started to waver because of the tears that she was fighting back.

"Stacy…"

"No Hunter. I can't…I think I may still be in love with you but I need to move on with my life. I know you are fighting so hard to make your marriage work and I…I want your marriage to work out as well."

"Stacy…I'm sorry, but I can't let you blame all of this on yourself. It was me too. I should never…I should never have put my hands on you."

"It's okay—

"No, it's not okay. Stacy…I do understand where you're coming from because…well…why do you think I kept pushing for you to go to Smackdown to begin with?"

"Huh?"

Hunter grabbed her hands kissing the back of them. "I still care about you too but we can't. I can't…I'm just not ready to throw away my marriage just yet and with you being you…and being around me…"

"Hunter…"

"But you don't have to go Stace. It was wrong of me to try and make Vince tell you what to do. You can stay as long as you like. I'll be alright. It's high time I start facing my problems anyway."

"But…I've already made up my mind. I can't. I don't trust myself and neither should you. Good-night Hunter. I'll see you next Monday and please tell Shawn for me. I don't…have the strength to go through this conversation again." And with that she hurried off leaving Hunter more confused emotionally than ever before.

* * *

AN: Not too much longer to go with this one. I never really planned on making it long anyway. I really just saw that old promo of the two of them kissing (Stephanie and Eric) and wondered why the hell the writers didn't do something with it. It was so unexpected but it was so awesome! Long live EB. Uh..yeah. So I know this is quite complicated but it couldn't be helped. I was but a young writer and...scratch that. All I do is complicate things so this really shouldn't be nothing new to you. Will Hunter and Stephanie make it? Or will it be Mrs. Legs herself that wins him over? And what of Eric and Stephanie? Ha Ha Tune in to find out.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: I might keep this a 'T' rated fic because I haven't written any in a while. But for now, I'll keep this in the 'M' section just in case.**

**~~**~~**

When Stephanie woke up the next morning, Eric had already gone. She sat up in bed and looked around the room. It was strange waking up and not smelling Eric's sweet smelling cologne. It was even stranger not hearing a snide remark or her nickname he'd given her 'princess'. Stephanie slowly rolled out of bed and headed straight for the restroom to shower. She emerged from the restroom an hour later with a robe on then took a seat on the bench in front of the dresser to dry her hair. That's when she noticed the sticky note that was taped to the side of the dresser. She picked it up and just couldn't stop the smile from forming across her lips as she read.

_Hey Princess,_

_Sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye but I didn't have the heart to wake you. Give Hunter hell and I'll see you on Friday._

_E._

Stephanie folded the note and placed it inside her purse. Feeling somewhat more cheerful, she went back to getting dressed making a mental note to talk with Eric later.

**~*~*~**

Two hours later, Eric was entering his empty house that he hadn't seen in almost three weeks. It seemed like it was longer since he'd left his home but he reckoned he felt that way because of the relief. It was a huge weight off his shoulders knowing that he now had a steady pay check (and a big one) coming in every month. It was also kind of a relief being around people and not just the walls of his empty house.

He set his bags down in the kitchen and headed straight to his answering machine. Sure enough he had several messages from people he knew were probably creditors. _Damn. Guess I should go through them_. With a heartfelt sigh, he got out some pen and paper from a desk drawer and sat down to hear his messages.

**~**~**~**

Hunter tossed and turned most of the night so he didn't get much sleep. By the time his alarm went off at 10 he was already stepping out of a hot shower. He quickly dressed then headed to meet Shawn for lunch. They decided to have subs instead of burgers for a change and Hunter was glad for he didn't think his stomach would hold anything greasy. It wasn't hard to spot his buddy Shawn in Subway, especially since he wasn't alone. John Cena was seated across from him and even there he couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. Hunter smiled as he quietly snuck up behind Cena smacking him aside the head.

"Hey! What the he—Hunter?"

"Slide over and stop flirting with Shawn," Hunter smirked. Cena reluctantly moved over so Hunter could sit on the end mumbling something under his breath about being straight. Hunter shook his head laughing. "Dude. It's cool. Everyone knows you're sweet on Shawn but Shawn is engaged. Time to move on," Hunter teased.

"Oh come on Hunter. Stop that. You're embarrassing both me and the kid," Shawn grumbled though his face was redder than usual.

"So how do you think Kim would feel about you being sexually harassed by a male?"

"Oh come off it Hunter," Shawn hissed. "You know full well—

"If you must know Hunter, I was teasing Shawn about his thinning hair. That's why my hand was all in his head. I wasn't flirting with him. Besides, I have a fiance now…I think."

"Oh really?" Hunter glanced across the table at Shawn who nodded his head.

"It's true," Shawn answered. "Now will you please stop making gay jokes about us? You know people used to say that about us too you know."

"Yeah but we _wanted_ to be controversial," Hunter reasoned. "We acted gay on purpose and…ahh forget it. So why is Wonder Boy here eating with us?"

"I'm tired of all of you calling me that!" Cena grumbled.

"He's having woman troubles," Shawn answered for him. "You know, much like us."

"Oh well then. Welcome to the club."

"Thanks…I think."

"So what's your story kid? What kind of girl troubles are you having? Are you cheating trying to juggle 20 women at once?" Hunter joked.

"No. It's actually a bit more complicated than that," Cena answered. "Remember I proposed to her not too long ago."

"Hmm…where was I?"

"In a wheelchair," Shawn shrugged.

"Damn. I missed a lot of shit when I was injured."

"Yeah you did," Shawn teased. "But to catch you up, here's the quick version. Cena got injured—

"Thank God," Hunter mumbled. "He was about to turn my best friend—

"Hunter…" Shawn warned.

"Alright. Alright. Continue."

"Anyway, he met Allison – really sweet girl – but lots of issues. Father was abusive. Mom was poor just…all kinds of issues. But somehow he fell for her and her for him but then Candice tried to break them up—

"Michelle?"

"No, Shawn you're confused," Cena laughed. "It was actually Carmella."

"Oh! Diva search chick right?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah but I brushed her off, proposed to Allison and now we're both having cold feet."

"Oh well that's perfectly normal," Hunter shrugged. "No big deal. Take a cruise and in 2 days you'll be missing her like crazy."

"I miss her now."

"Then what's the problem?" When Cena didn't answer right away, Hunter just knew he knew what it was. He grinned his signature grin and cast Shawn a knowing look. "It's you isn't it Shawn? He wants you but—

"Dammit Hunter stop joking around!" Shawn snapped. "It's not – for the last time Cena and I are just friends!"

"Then what is it then?" he huffed, still not entirely convinced.

"Her father hates me," Cena mumbled. "And I kind of beat him up a couple of times and now he's got half of her family thinking I'm some abusive lunatic but I swear to you that _he's_ the freaking loony."

"Oh…damn man. I'm sorry," Hunter winced. "If it makes you feel any better Shawn was married to one for years and my current father-in-law is the biggest lunatic the world over."

"But it's Vinny Mac…the boss…and he actually _likes_ you."

"He didn't always like me," Hunter replied. "Come to think of it, his hatred of me actually pushed me and Steph closer together. Man those were good times."

"Were?" Cena asked frowning. "I don't like the sound of that. Don't tell me you and Steph…?"

"Naa, we're not getting a divorce…at least I hope not," Hunter added sadly. "She…we haven't been getting along as of late and the new DX member – by the way Shawn she's leaving us in a week – is just not helping matters at all."

"Huh? Wait…what?" Shawn shook his head. "Slow down. Stacy is leaving? But she just got back!"

"No, I mean she's moving to Smackdown. She asked Vince to move."

"That's a good thing right?"

"Uh…yeah but…" Hunter sighed. "I feel bad because I feel like it's my fault she's leaving. I mean, I know it's my fault but she shouldn't have to leave on account of my insecurities ya know?"

"Uh…I'm lost," Cena cut in. "What about this Stacy?"

"She's Hunter's ex lover," Shawn answered.

"Oh."

"Yeah and she's still in love with me."

"Come again?" Shawn asked.

"She's still in love with me."

"O…k. So are you still in love with her?" Cena asked.

"I…don't think so."

"Think?"

"Well…Dammit Cena I don't feel like getting into it again. Just…something happened the other night…well, not really but it was enough to make both of us uncomfortable and now Stephanie's not talking with me but I could have sworn she was in a good mood this morning…"

"Hunter slow down," Shawn said rolling his eyes. "Too many thoughts for an old guy to process."

"Oh. Sorry. Yeah so I talked with Steph briefly and she seemed to be in a good mood but clearly not enough to want to see me today. So…that's why I'm here. I wanted to just talk things out while I figure out a way to deal with Stacy and possibly fix my marriage."

"But you love Stacy right?" Cena asked.

"That's just it. I don't know!" Hunter snapped. "But what I do know is that I don't want to lose Stephanie. I do know that I can't imagine life without her so I want to keep her. I want to save my marriage."

"So you've got to make peace with Stacy and move on," Shawn reasoned.

"Oh right. Like how you made peace with Bret right?"

Shawn just glared at him. "Don't. _Don't_ go there. I did try to make peace with the selfish bastard but he wouldn't listen so whatever. I've made my peace and have moved on with my life. If he wants to act like we were never friends then that's his business. I do miss having him as a friend but why dwell on it when I have you guys?"

"Yeah. What Shawn said," Cena grinned. "So Hunty. Do what the man says. Go make peace."

"But _how_? How do I do that without complicating things even more? Last time I tried talking with Stacy we almost ended up in bed."

"Well…maybe it's more of a physical attraction," Cena answered. "I uh…have often times imagined things with others and sometimes I…though not since Allison… But I never cross the line because I know I love her and…" Cena suddenly looked up and saw that both men were staring at him with confused looks on their faces. "Uh…just forget it," he mumbled.

"I think what Cena's getting at," Shawn continued, "is that you still need to hang out with her and figure out if it's merely just a physical attraction. You can't keep hiding from her."

"But I'm sure it's not."

"Then go home and make love to your wife!" Cena answered. "God Stephanie's smoking hot. Remember I slapped her ass once," he pointed out.

"Yeah I know which reminds me. I owe you an ass kicking for that," Hunter growled. He snatched the hat off of Cena's head and held it over his head.

"Hey. Take it easy. I'm just saying man. Stacy's a hot blonde and all but Steph's a jewel. Remember there had to be a reason why you didn't marry Stacy to begin with right? Now give me my hat!"

Cena snatched his hat back completely oblivious to the hurt look on Hunter's face. Shawn reached over and grabbed his buddy's hand. "You'll be alright but like me, you can't keep running away Hunter. Sit down with Stephanie and tell her how you feel. Get all of it out on the table and see what happens. As for Stacy, you just need to conquer your fear. If your bond with Stephanie is as strong as you think it is then you won't have the heart to sleep with Stacy anyway. Trust me. I know. Just try it and see what happens."

"Yeah…you're right." He smiled. "Thanks guys. Now enough talk. Let's get some damn food shall we? Oh and Shawn…uh…your treat. I forgot my wallet."

* * *

AN: I know. I know. It's been what? A year since I've updated this one? Yeah well life catches up with you and you have to let the simple things in life go. But you probably noticed all the other updating I've done. Truth is, I kind of got caught up in a few particular WWE storylines and before I knew it I had novels written. All slash of course but who cares? It's fiction. Anyway, this may be updated more regularly now that I've figured out how to end it. Not much longer to go. Didn't really expect this to be a masterpiece of some sort and I hope you don't either. Trust me. My slash is way better and if you don't like slash, dude. You're missing out.

**FYI:** Time for another addition of my recommended readings!

**_Hot One Shots by Seraphalexiel_** **[SLASH]** - _I'm not sure but I think so far, all of her requests have been for male/male pairings. Either way they are totally hot oneshots that you should check out. You have a secret male/male pairing you'd like to see written out? Go read through them. I'm sure she has what you're looking for and if not, you can always make a request._

**_In A Gadda Da Vidda by wrestlefan4_** **[?]** - _I don't recall any set pairings as of yet but it may be slash later on. Anyway if you are an angst addict and a fan of Edge, Jericho, The Hardyz, and Christian then I highly recommend this fic. Very sad and will have you in tears but it's also so cute and sweet. Go read it. It's written by one of the BEST writers on this site. Trust me. You won't regret it._

**_Mist, Madness and a Crow_** **[Anime-Naruto]** - _I know this isn't a wrestling fic but like me, I am sure there are other anime fans who read wrestling fics. Problem is you get tired of browsing through page after page of badly written fanfics but I have done the work for you. This is one of the best Naruto OSTs I have ever read. No smut or anything. Just plain literary brilliance. I highly recommend this one. 10 star fic. _


	11. Chapter 11

Hunter was feeling much better and was now determined more than ever to sit down with his wife and get things out in the open. The problem is, Stephanie wasn't answering her phone. He even went back to her hotel room but according to the clerk she had already checked out for the day. As Hunter sat in his truck outside the hotel he racked his brain trying to figure out where she could be. He didn't want to cause any trouble so he avoided calling Linda and Vince. Instead, he just left her a voicemail telling her where he'd be if she wished to talk. She had a Smackdown taping to be at so they would be separated for the next couple of days on the road. He just hoped he could catch her before then. He was really starting to worry that his marriage was done for and that's the last thing he wanted.

**~*~*~**

Stephanie was purposely ignoring Hunter's phone calls. It wasn't that she didn't wish to see him; it was that she needed to get some things figured out first before she went back to Hunter. Right now she wanted nothing more than to make her marriage work but there were two things stopping her from caring right now: Stacy and Eric. Stacy meant more to Hunter than he was letting on and nothing about her marriage was going to work until Hunter owned up to his feelings for her. Only then would Stephanie take him seriously again.

On the other hand, Stephanie was fighting an attraction of her own. She wasn't sure how or why it happened but she could not get Eric out of her mind. It was so bad that Stephanie found herself sitting on a commercial flight headed toward Eric's hometown. This is crazy she thought. Crazy but she couldn't help it. Eric was starting to be a little more open about his life but Stephanie couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something from her. She started to ask her dad but he would only be too happy to divulge such info since he was hell bent on separating her from Hunter. Part of the reason why Stephanie always fought hard for her marriage was because she knew how much her dad still hated Hunter. It was such a childish thing to do but at the end of the day she still could at least admit to loving Hunter. She glanced down at her phone and saw that Hunter had left her a voicemail. _I'm sorry love but I'll check it later. Right now I have to figure some things out…_

***~*~***

Eric had been on the phone all day with lawyers trying to find a good one to represent him. Apparently he didn't have much of a choice left in the matter concerning his ex. He was going to have the DNA tests done, which Vince was already kindly taking care of it. In the meantime, he supposed all he could do was wait to see what she did next. If the children both turned out to be his then he would have to attempt the 'father thing' even though he had no idea how to act around kids. Plus by now, Enrique was probably in his early twenties which meant he would be hard to handle. He hated Lifetime movies but would always find himself watching a few when he was jobless. One thing they all seemed to point out was that kids growing up without both parents usually suffered from abandonment issues. Problem was, Eric never abandoned his kid (or kids). Like he told Vince, he never got to see them and in all honesty had no idea if any of them were his anyway.

Eric put away his phone book and left the kitchen. His home, though small compared to most in his profession, was his favorite place to seek refuge. It was a one-story brick house with a huge porch. He loved his old fashioned rocking chairs; he had four white ones sitting on his porch. On both ends of the porch were wooden swings. He never really used them but he thought they would be nice to have just in case. He found swings to be romantic and had hoped to be swinging in one with the love of his life in wrapped in his arms.

Eric shook the thought as he closed his front door. He switched on a lamp and realized that his living room was in desperate need of some cleaning. There were beer cans littered about the floor near his recliner while newspapers covered his beautiful oak coffee table. His end tables were in desperate need of dusting while books needed to be shelved. His kitchen wasn't nearly as bad since he never cooked but he was sure there were dishes in the dishwasher as well as beer cans all over it too. _What the hell? I live alone so I'll clean tomorrow._

Eric skipped past his kitchen heading straight for his bathroom to get a shower. He was sure he was in there an hour but the water felt so good to his tense body that he couldn't help it. He dried himself opting only for some boxers and his robe. He was about to call it an early night when he heard his doorbell ring. Eric frowned. _No one ever visits me._ Then he laughed._ Maybe it's my ex wife. Wouldn't that me something? _"Coming," he mumbled. He was in no mood for visitors but whatever. He quickly opened the door only to find the last person he expected standing before him and with bags no less. "Stephanie?"

She bit her lips nervously while fidgeting with her bracelet. "I'm sorry Eric but…I needed to see you. I can't…be with Hunter right now. I'm so confused and I…You're the only person I could turn to."

"I…" He sighed. He could never ever turn her away but damn if she was making things difficult for him. "I'm assuming Hunter has no idea where you are." She shook her head. "And when he finds out you're staying with me…?" She shrugged. "Princess, you know I'd never turn you away—

"Then let me stay," she pleaded, her big beautiful eyes filling with tears. "I can't stand to be around him right now Eric – at least not until I am ready to talk with him about Stacy." She was crying again and Eric knew turning her away was definitely not an option now. He was a sucker for crying women, especially this one. He grabbed the bags out of her hand and led her into the house. "It's a mess but forgive me. I'm a lonely, old bastard bachelor so it's kind of befitting me."

She didn't say anything. She merely nodded as he led her through the house to his one and only guest room which was not so surprisingly neat considering it had never been used before. A huge queen sized bed was centered in the room adorned with black and white linen. There were two small nightstands and a large dresser with a mirror across from the bed. The walls were pretty blank for the most part with the exception of an old painting of some sort. "You can sleep here. I'll probably turn in early tonight but you know if you need anything you can come get me. My room's down the hall. Last door on the right. The door on the left has towels, washcloths and anything else you might need. I'm going to the porch so you can get settled in."

**~**~**

Eric didn't have to wait long before Stephanie emerged from the room. Eric didn't know how long he had been sitting on the porch but apparently it was longer than he thought since Stephanie looked as if she just got out of the shower. She smiled weakly as she came out on the porch taking a seat next to him in his swing. "Thanks for allowing me to stay Eric. You have no idea what it means to me."

"You know I could never turn you away," he chuckled, not bothering to look her way for fear of speculating about what was underneath her robe.

"I don't know Eric. In a way I wish you would have made me go. I can't keep running away from my problems. Even I know this and yet here I am…"

"Well…sometimes it's better to run away – at least for a while. If you're like me, it takes a little time to build up that courage needed to stand your ground. Why do you think it took me so long to even think about the business again?"

"But you always appeared so cool and full of yourself on screen."

"It's easy to do that when you have so much power," he chuckled. "I was kicking billionaire Vince's ass each week and I had Hulk Hogan at my grasp, the biggest superstar ever. It wasn't very hard to appear over confident. But as you can see, it was all just an act."

"Maybe so but even now you're still more confident than me…rushing out here to take on your ex all by yourself."

Eric quickly turned his head. "How do you know…?"

"My dad told me but not because he volunteered the info," she answered quickly. "I sort of…tricked him into giving me the info."

"But why?" he snapped. "It was none of your business!"

"I'm…sorry Eric but I needed to find you," she huffed. "Don't you understand? I can't…be alone right now!"

"Yeah well that's not my problem Step." Eric suddenly stood to his feet and hurried into the house. "Why can't she mind her own damn business?"

He heard the door shut behind him. "I heard that!" she screamed. "And for your information, I can't help it because I care!"

Eric suddenly spun around rolling his eyes. "Stop…caring Steph," he growled.

"Don't call me Steph! Hunter calls me that," she snapped.

"Fine. _Princess_…you need to get grip. I don't _want_ or _need_ you in my business. I can take care of things on my own."

"I can see you're doing a hell of a job too," she grumbled looking around the filthy living room.

"Look woman, I don't have time to argue anymore. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like but stay out of my business alright? You don't see me trying to get in you and Hunter's business."

"Unfortunately for you, you're already in the middle of it."

Eric only laughed as he started back towards his room. "I wouldn't _dream_ of getting in the middle. I've done nothing so don't try to shove your marriage problems on me." He turned the corner into his room but Stephanie was right behind him.

"You did nothing?"

"That's right," he said smugly. "I go to work and you come to me complaining. I listen. That's ALL I do."

"That and try to kiss me all the time," she shot back.

"I do…alright. Fine. I've tried to kiss you – twice – but it wasn't nothing to get worked up about. Besides, _you're_ the one who's always doing stuff – like now – and it drives me crazy!"

"Well I'm sorry that I'm an attractive woman!" she screamed. "If it makes you feel any better I wish _you_ were _un_attractive!" She turned her back to him, attempting to stop the tears from streaming down her face.

"I'm…wait…wha…what did you say?" he asked frowning. When she didn't answer, he closed the gap between them. "Princess?" He placed his hands on her shoulders turning her around slowly. She was crying and oh how he hated it. He sighed. "Princess, stop crying. I didn't…I didn't mean to yell at you. I just…"

"It's not like I want to care Eric. I don't want to care because I want to care about my marriage."

"Then go home," he encouraged. "Go home and make yourself care." _I know what she's on about but I can't let her know…She needs to save her marriage…_

She shook her head. "I tried to go home Eric but I ended up here…I…I needed to be around you."

"Why? I'm an overbearing, ego maniac who's old enough to be your father."

"I know that but like it or not, I want to be here…with you."

"Stephanie…no. Don't…do you even know what you're saying?" he asked. "This is…are you hearing yourself right now? No one in their right mind would want to be here with me."

_She's lost it…_

"Why?" she screamed. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone actually likes being around you? What? Your wife treated you that bad to the point where you don't think you're likeable anymore?"

"None of your business."

"Answer me!" she screamed.

"No! I don't know! God…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I can't…deal with this right now."

"Well I can't deal with my marriage until I deal with you."

"What do you want from me!" he snapped. "What the _hell _do you want from me?! I can't save your marriage for you Stephanie! If anything, I'm the last person you should be seeking help from."

"I don't need your help Eric!" she choked.

"Then what is it?! Tell me what you want from me!"

"Nothing, I just—

"What? Want to give me a headache?" he accused. "Piss me off for yelling at you? Make my life a living hell all because you teased me into curiosity?"

"No, I—

"I'll admit it. I have often thought about tasting those plump lips of yours among other things but it's mainly out of frustration Princess. I'm not intentionally flirting – okay. So maybe I am but you know I mean well." He grabbed her hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. "Look princess, don't take my actions to heart because you know I'd never cross that line. Your father…well scratch that. Your father finds this all amusing but your husband would kill me! I…even if I wanted to know what it felt like, I cannot go there and neither should you want me to."

"But what if I don't care anymore Eric!" she cried. "I…I need to know what I'm feeling. Kiss me and make a believer out of me. Kiss me so I'll know it's all in my head."

"I can't."

"You have to Eric! If you don't then I'm going to be left wondering what if. That is why I can't face Hunter! I can't go home to him until I figure out what it is I feel for you."

"Let me help you out. Princess, I have no feelings towards you whatsoever—

"Then prove it!"

"…"

"If you don't kiss me Eric then you will never get rid of me. You really don't understand. I'm fighting with feelings here that I don't understand and your refusal to take a chance is going to ruin me."

"I'm not ruining your marriage. You are doing it on your own and no, I will not give in to your little ultimatum so you're stuck here until Smackdown."

"So be it then, but Eric. Something's there. I know you feel it too only you're much better at hiding your feelings than I am. But that's fine. I don't want to kiss you anyway. It's more of a need to satisfy something we both started the night we slept together. I'll let it go but at least now you know why I'm here. I'm here because I'm attracted to you and I want to help you. I'm afraid I don't love Hunter anymore and it's because I have confusing feelings about you. Goodnight Eric. Why don't you sleep on that?" she cried before hurrying out of the room.

* * *

**AN: Not much more longer to go on this fic. Almost done. About a three or so chapters should do it. Thanks for being patient.**


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